It Is Harvest Time

“Do you not say, ‘Four months more and then the harvest’?  I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields!  They are ripe for harvest.  Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now, he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and reaper may be glad together.”

John 4:35-36

Falling leaves, cool mornings, the first hint of Autumn and I am warming up apple cider and baking pumpkin bread. Yep, that’s me----an Autumn fanatic!!!! Jumping up and down at the mention of needing to put a sweater on to watch the sunset. We Texans, look forward to that first pot of chili and hot cornbread right out of the oven.

Harvest and harvest season are mentioned numerous times in Scripture. Jesus spoke about the harvest in Matthew 9:37, Luke 10:2, and John 4:35-36. In Matthew 9:37-38, He said “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

What harvest is He talking about? Who are the workers?

The fields ripe for harvest are the lost souls who are around us everyday.

Who are the workers? You and I are when we become believers. But, you say, “I am not a missionary.” Yes, you and I are missionaries. Maybe, not in some foreign land, but we are in our families, in our neighborhood, with our coffee group, at the grocery store, where we volunteer, at the gym, our bridge club, everywhere we are. It is called friendship evangelism.

Look for opportunities to turn a simple conversation toward a spiritual conversation. Ask God for the moments and the words that need to be said so the reaping of another soul for Christ begins.

God gives us the amazing privilege of speaking on His behalf and representing Him to others. We get to communicate the Gospel; show God’s mercy and compassion to those in need; teach others what we have been taught; and represent people before God in prayer.  Oh my! That is holy stuff!!!! Lost souls are the area closest to God’s heart and He entrusts us to work for Him there.

Claudia Jackson