Saturday, January 31, 2015
Luke 9:37-38 Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest."
HARVESTERS
There are lots of people who are ripe, who are ready to be told the truth, that Jesus would have us bring to HIM. There are not many that actively seek to gather in the harvest. There are currently about 6.7 billion people on earth and about 2 billion (or a third) of them claim to be Christian. Now, that may sound pretty good, until it is revealed that of those 2 billion, only 680 million (11%) say they actually believe what the Bible says. How many of those do you think are actively working for Christ?
What can we do about this problem? We can encourage our children to consider studying for the teaching and preaching ministries. We can show them by our actions and our offerings that it is important. We can do many things, but we should begin with prayer, prayer to our heavenly father that He would send out more to work at bringing other human beings to Jesus.
However, let's not imagine that praying is all that the LORD would have us do. Let's not think that such prayers absolve us from asking the LORD what can I do, and then doing it. After all, He does tell us what we are to do in His Word. Let's not say that we are too busy -- to do so suggests we are not committed first to Him. Let's not simply absolve ourselves, but be honest and repent, praying that He lead us to be one of those laborers.
It is, after all, OUR purpose. The LORD invites all of us to the work when he says:
"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
When we proclaim the Good News, let's not be confused about our goal. It is the Lord's harvest we seek to gather. Ever hear someone grumble about how much it costs to keep the church operating? Ever hear someone suggest that the answer is more members? We tell of Christ so that others are gathered to HIM--so that others might experience the peace of knowing their sins are forgiven--not so that their money is gathered into our coffers. Let us recognize the joy of His salvation, and the excitement in telling people that Jesus has overcome even death, promising a new life to come. This is what moves us to show forth His praise.
Harvesters are needed for the Lord's Harvest of souls. May God move you by His Spirit to serve selflessly as one of those harvesters, using the tools He provides in His Word. Amen.
