The Harvest
OPENING PRAYER:
Lord, give me a heart for those that need to hear about you. Show me those that are ready to hear about your love and mercy.
“Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”
REFLECT:
This spring I decided I was going to learn how to garden. I wanted to start with something small and work my way up to bigger produce, so I decided to start an herb garden. I carefully researched which plants to put together and then, with the help of my master gardener husband, planted my herbs. I always thought I had a black thumb, but it turns out that I can make things grow. Keeping my herb garden going took a lot of careful attention and daily maintenance. I felt a great sense of accomplishment the first time I was able to cook with herbs that I grew myself.
Much like herbs, our relationships also need careful attention and daily maintenance. In this passage in Matthew Jesus is referring to those that need to hear the good news as the harvest. He is calling his followers to go out into the field to help with the harvest.
Author Gregory Koukl wrote an article on Stand to Reason (the website is str.org and if you have time to read the article this week, I know it will bless you.) in January of 2020 titled Harvester or Gardner. Here Koukl talks about the fact that “before there can be any harvest there always has to be a season of gardening.” So often we focus on the end goal in our relationships with others, the harvest, that we forget that we must first be gardeners. Relationships take time and care to build up to a place where someone may be willing to hear or be open to the ideas we present. Koukl says we must first plant seeds. As Jesus says, we need to go into the harvest field. Jesus may not necessarily be calling us to harvest at this time, but he does call us to be in the field. He calls us to be a part of the tending and nurturing of those he will one day harvest.
Planting seeds can take shape in many ways. These can be conversations that we have with others about their views and beliefs where we make sure they feel heard and understood. Planting seeds may be investing in the day-to-day life of those around us, like caring for our neighbor in a real and tangible way. Planting seeds could be doing something nice for someone so that they can see Jesus’ love through our actions. Planting seeds can also mean sharing our faith, making sure that we understand how to explain our own views and convictions so that we can answer questions that others may have.
APPLY:
How can you be a good gardener? Consider just spending time with those around you really listening to what they have to say. Prayer can be an effective tool to help us feel more confident in our encounters. Pray for boldness. God is the ultimate harvester and will do the spiritual work when the time is right. Studying is also important. Knowing what you believe and why you believe it will help you be able to plant seeds more successfully.
CLOSING PRAYER:
Lord present me with opportunities to plant seeds. Guide my words and actions as I interact with those around me so that I may be able to be a part of your harvest.
WORSHIP: