Father, help me to be ready and watchful; May I labor and not grow weary. I will share the Good News with haste!
Focus of the month: “A Plentiful Harvest”
We plant. We sow. We reap. We labor. And now…the time has finally arrived for the harvest! It seems as though we’ve been talking in a special ‘Farming Code’ over the past few weeks. Since the only farming I have actually done is in video game form, I admit I am no expert. So, what do we need to learn from all these scriptures? What did Jesus mean when He spoke about the harvest? Hint…He isn’t talking about crops. He is talking about the salvation of those who come to believe in Him as Lord and Savior.
“Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.” (John 4:35-38 ESV)
So often we write about receiving salvation in our messages. It’s important to understand that if we are Believers in Christ Jesus we have work to do. We must be planters of the Word of God; we must sow into the lives of others. We are called to more than knowing…we are called to doing! And just as Jesus sent His disciples out to share the message of salvation…so He sends us. Are you walking in the fields? Are you gazing upon the readiness of others who are in need of Jesus? If not, are you willing?
We move through our lives somewhat robotically at times. We do what we think is important or urgent without a thought of the person sitting right next to us. Is she saved? Does she even know this is an option? We don’t know how many seeds were planted in that person’s life…and right now in our midst she may be ready to say “yes” to Jesus and we miss the moment. We can be consumed with our own lives, our own needs, our own stuff. How can we break free from that and walk into each day fully ready to help harvest into the Kingdom of God?
Revelation 14:14-16 (ESV) says:
“Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and seated on the cloud one like a son of man, with a golden crown on his head, and a sharp sickle in his hand. And another angel came out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, “Put in your sickle, and reap, for the hour to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is fully ripe.” So he who sat on the cloud swung his sickle across the earth, and the earth was reaped.
Jesus will be back. He will be harvesting those who are saved into His kingdom. Until this day comes I commit to the work He has called me to do. I can’t wait, can you?
Holding Fast to Hope,
Jen
Scripture References: John 4:35-38; Revelation 14:14-16; James 1:22
