Harvest: He Calls You And Me

Monday, October 07, 2013 Posted by Lisa

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"These were his instructions to them: 'The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.' " (Luke 10:2 NLT)

What strikes me most about this verse is what Jesus didn't say in this analogy. He did not mention a wish or desire to see workers preparing the ground and planting a field. The hard work of preparing the soil for a bountiful harvest had already been done. The long season of watering and waiting was now complete. His plea was for laborers to go into the fields and bring out what the land was yielding.

Have you ever gone to a field to pick your own strawberries or to a pumpkin patch where you are greeted with row after row of round orange delight just waiting to be picked? Imagine if you will, what if instead you were told you had to do all the hard work of planting and maintaining a section of land in order to receive its harvest. If you've ever tried to grow anything edible, you know just one misstep or neglect of water and you've killed the plant. For this reason alone many opt out of being small backyard farmers. It's just too much work, too much risk. 

That is the very attitude we have when we are told to share Jesus with others. We're afraid of failure, of rejection, of being responsible in remembering to do what needs to be done, we're afraid of making a complete mess and being mocked for even trying. It's just too much work.


What we should remember instead is that God is the One who does the preparing of the soil, the heart. He is the One who plays the most active role because no one can believe in Jesus without God's help. Scripture says "the Lord who is in CHARGE of the harvest" because it is "HIS fields". By the Holy Spirit, the promise of His word is already planted and He is asking for laborers to do the harvesting. Think about that the next time you walk through a pumpkin patch this Fall.  Remember He has called us to join Him in His fields.  The laborers He calls are you and me.

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