Making Hay While the Sun Shines!

The words that make up the title of this little piece are from an old English proverb. They speak to us about the nature of time and opportunities that come with it. Most of my "growing up" days were spent on a farm in Giles County, Tennessee. In those days hay bales were "square" or rectangular in shape as compared to today’s "rolled" or round bales. I learned firsthand to appreciate the English proverb mentioned above. When it comes to making hay, you literally have to do it while the sun shines! There is a limited window of opportunity after you cut the grass down to let it dry in the sun and then get it baled and warehoused in the barn and used to feed the livestock through the winter. So the phrase, "Make hay while the sun shines," has come to stand for things in life where the opportunity to do or achieve or accomplish a certain thing has a limited time frame before the opportunity passes.

"Make hay while the sun shines" certainly has an application to spiritual life and the well-being of our souls. For two thousand years the apostle Paul’s words in Ephesians 5:16-17 have urged readers to understand the urgency in making spiritual hay while the sun shines – "See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil." The English Standard Version renders the passage this way – "Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil." The next verse follows with this directive: "Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is." The Bible is never brash or vulgar, but neither is it ever concerned with political correctness or modern sensitivities or touchiness about being "judgmental" or "intolerant" or to assign labels on people. The English Standard softens up Paul’s language verse 16 of the above-quoted Scripture, calling Christians to not live as "unwise" people but as wise. But the King James and New King James employ a stronger English word, urging readers to be careful to walk / live as "fools." The "fools" Paul is describing in context are those who fail to seek and obey and honor God while they can. In the words of 2 Corinthians 6:2 "Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation." Among other things, that passage of Scripture admonishes us that the opportunity to be saved is a finite one. It is a "day." Jesus Himself was cognizant of the fact that the opporunity to do the works of God and fulfill His will while on earth was a limited one. His words in John 9:4, preceding His miraculous healing of a man born blind from birth, drives home the point – "I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work." A passage at Jeremiah 8:20 sums up a sad era in the history of God’s Old Testament people – "The harvest is past, The summer is ended, And we are not saved!" Sadly, God’s people had squandered their opportunity ot be saved. A gospel hymn asks, "Why do you wait dear brother? The harvest is passing away; Your Savior is longing to bless you: There’s danger and death in delay" ("Why Do You Wait?" by Geroge E. Root, verse 4). If you are reading these words, the sun is still shining on you. There is yet time to learn God’s will and live your life for Him. Now is the day of salvation. Make hay while you can. Will you think about it? 

– Dan Gulley, Smithville, TN