Reasons for Rejoicing by J. C. Rogers

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Sep 2, 1902

Reasons for Rejoicing

By J. C. Rogers

GOD reserves the control of our emotions and the right to our affections. He even commands us to rejoice, and failure to serve him with joyfulness and gladness of heart is given as a reason for spiritual and temporal leanness among his people. The service of joy is recommended to us in both the Old and the New Testament. The kingdom of God is righteousness and joy and peace, and our Father gives us abundant reasons for rejoicing.

“Because the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all thine increase, and in all the works of thine hands, therefore thou shalt surely rejoice.” Deut. 16:15. This is God’s promised blessing in which every worker in his vineyard, literal and spiritual, can rejoice through all the days of his labor. But the tiller of the soil—and every man and woman should till some of it—is given special reasons for rejoicing, as he sees the fruits of his labor springing up under his care. Yesterday I was invited by a friend to walk through his orchard. He showed me with pride several young trees whose growth he had watched eagerly for two years. After noticing the flourishing growth of many, he led the way to one well laden with ripening fruit. Pointing to it with joy in his eyes and voice and heart, “This,” said he, “is the first fruit I have ever seen from a tree of my own planting.” Other trees in his orchard drooped with their wealth of fruit, but they were planted by other hands, and had not half the interest as the one of his own care.

So with the man who tills the soil. His heart is made glad to see how the blessing of God upon his own diligent efforts is bringing its harvest of grain and fruit. And the Lord appointed a time and a way whereby his people might acknowledge and honor him. This service was called the Feast of Harvest, or Feast of Weeks. It was celebrated each year when the first grain was ready to harvest, and nothing was to be eaten until an offering of it was first brought to the Lord. What a blessed thing it would be to God’s people if this feast of God were observed to-day!

“Thou shalt keep . . . the feast of harvest, the first fruits of thy labors, which thou hast sown in the field.” “And thou shalt keep the feast of weeks unto the Lord thy God with a tribute of freewill offering of thine hand, which thou shalt give unto the Lord thy God, according as the Lord thy God hath blessed thee: and thou shalt rejoice before the Lord thy God.” See Ex. 23:15-19; Deut. 16:10-17.

No products of the earth might be touched for selfish use until the Lord had his offering. “Ye shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn, nor green ears, until the selfsame day that ye have brought an offering unto your God: it shall be a statute forever.” Lev. 23:14. Can you give any good reason why this statute should not be carried out to-day? The Missionary Acre Plan is carrying it out in the spirit. Are you in the plan?

J. C. ROGERS.