Dear flock,
We have spent much of this series speaking against what is false. Now let us turn and see the glory of what is true. October is His. Not the devil’s. Not the world’s. “The earth is the LORD’s, and the fulness thereof.” Every orchard heavy with New York and New Jersey apples, every field of corn in Pine Island, NY (if you haven’t been, go), every ridge of the Catskill Mountains ablaze with scarlet and gold proclaims the majesty of our God. If you teach your children to look closely, they might see covenant tokens. That October belongs to Christ.
October as a Witness of Christ
Every furrow that once split bare earth now stands clothed in grain. Every seed buried in darkness has broken open and lifted its head toward the sun. Every barn, now full, testifies that death is not the end but the beginning.
Walk through the fields of October and hear the sermon God has been telling since Eden, since Canaan, since Galilee: life comes through dying, fruit follows burial, the harvest is His. “Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest” (Matt. 9:38).
When your children scatter the piles of fallen leaves, remind them: Adam returned to dust, but Christ entered the grave and rose the Firstfruits. Let the sharp air and silver frost speak the rehearsal of that final harvest, when angels will sweep the four winds and gather the Lord’s elect. Show them the cross, the tomb, the resurrection. Show them Jesus.
Tell it to them until October itself feels filled with hopeful expectation. Speak of Jesus, the Firstfruits risen, until every field, every leaf, every cold wind of autumn air carries the weight of the Great Day. For us and our children to be found in Him, this is the one harvest worth having, dear parents.
A Pilgrim’s Path: Harvest Practices for the Saints
How, then, shall we live in this month? In harvest-light. Here are a few suggestions to fill October with Christ’s praise:
Adorn with Glory.
Let your home be decorated with things that preach Psalm 24:1. Fill it with the bounty of the season. Let creation itself catechize your children: every gourd, every leaf, every apple declaring, “This is the LORD’s.”
Hold a Feast of Gratitude.
Set a table laden heavy with harvest goods. Read Psalm 65 aloud: “Thou crownest the year with thy goodness.” Let thanksgiving, not fear, be the scent of October in your home.
Walk in Creation’s Sanctuary.
Step beneath the cathedral of autumn trees. Gather leaves, pinecones, acorns. Read creation’s story, “And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.” Teach your children to see the artistry of God where the world sees only scenery.
Keep Campfire Watch.
Light a fire, sing psalms, tell of Abraham looking for a city, of martyrs who would not bow. Let the crackle of flame and the canopy of stars remind you that our sparks fly upward (Job 5:7), and there is a Light no darkness can overcome (John 8:12).
Practice Hospitality.
Open your home to others. Read John 1: “In him was life; and the life was the light of men.” Break bread, share warmth, share Christ. Let your neighbors see what true light looks like.
For the Heart: Toward the Eternal Harvest
Dear ones, we are strangers and pilgrims, not wanderers lost in the dark. We are pilgrims of the dawn. If Christ is ours, then October is ours, and November, and every month until the trumpet sounds. Forget the carnival of fear. Let your wreaths and tables, your songs and prayers, be holy defiance, lanterns in the night, seeds sown into the memory of your children.
These will sprout into testimony in due time. Someday, when your children face their own lions and furnaces, they may remember: our house chose Christ.
So, let October be redeemed. Let your windows glow with warmth, your table echo with thanksgiving, your worship ascend with gratitude. For soon the seasons of this earth will end, the harvest will close, and all Christ’s believing people will sit down at that eternal banquet, where “the Lamb is the light thereof” (Rev. 21:23).
“But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end. The children of thy servants shall continue, and their seed shall be established before thee” (Psalm 102:27–28).
Eloquently written truth. Beautiful gleanings for the month of October. October is ours and isn't good to know that Christ is ours as well and we are His as His elect. "We worship and adore Thee bowing down before Thee, songs of praises singing, Hallelujahs ringing......Amen