JESUS SPEAKING
In the meantime his disciples urged him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” But he said to them, “I have food to eat of which you do not know.” Therefore the disciples said to each other, “Has anyone brought him something to eat?” Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent me, and to finish His work. Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest! And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows, and he who reaps may rejoice together. For in this the saying is true: ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors” (John 4: 31-38.)
INSPIRED THOUGHTS
The disciples had just gone in to the city to buy food and they had left Jesus sitting by a well. He opened up a dialogue with a woman who came to draw water, and she became a believer. The disciples returned with the food, but Jesus wasn’t hungry because converting the woman had nourished him. Jesus made it known that converting others was more urgent than the need for food. Between the planting and harvesting seasons there was a period of patient waiting, a time to relax; the Lord revealed that the time to relax and be patient was over; the time for harvesting souls had begun. The heads of wheat would turn a white color when it was time for them to be harvested; in this way, Jesus compares men and wheat, saying, “look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest.” From the beginning of creation, God’s words were the seeds, and every human heart was the ground in which these words were sown. The sowers were the prophets, who labored to get His words to the people. The reapers were the disciples, who had not labored in the sowing of the word, but were commissioned by Jesus to gather the fruit that came from the labors of the prophets. So, both the prophets and the disciples would celebrate together in the Kingdom. The work of God continues today; the eternal sowing and reaping proceeds with just as much urgency as when Jesus spoke these words. And today, if we reap, or if we sow, in the coming kingdom, all who have labored for God will rejoice together.
Recently I took a gentleman to the emergency room; there happened to be quite a large number of people who needed care. We sat there for most of the day, waiting. The order in which the people were ushered in to the back was based upon the severity of their condition. Shortness of breath, severe abnormal headache, hemorrhaging, were all considered life threatening. The likelihood of death was what set the priority in that emergency room; not order of arrival. In life, the entire world is an emergency room, filled with dying people. Many don’t know they are dying, and others do, but everyone is sick, and everyone needs to see the Doctor. Those who are the Lord’s have been healed, and they have the cure. The cure is an experience with Jesus Christ. The fruit is made up of people who give their lives over to God, and make the teachings of the Lord their foundation for living. Those who are healed look forward to an eternal life with God in His Kingdom.
The person sitting next to you on the bus is dying; the person beside you in the coffee shop is headed for a cliff; the cashier at the bank is sick and needs help. Can you help them today? Will you help them today? Can you plant a seed, can you harvest a crop? How difficult is it to lean over and tell another person about what Jesus Christ has done in your life, and tell them what he can do in their life? How much discomfort does it cause you to let a nonbeliever know that you will be praying for them; or to quote a scripture when another person is down and in need of hope? The planting and the harvesting began a long time ago, but they continue today in all those who choose to do God’s work.
“Lord Heavenly Father, we ask and pray that You would please give us divine appointments; bring us people that are sick and need to hear the gospel; speak through us, to them, and to their hearts. Help us to serve You with a fervency, and diligence, and may we bear much fruit for You, and for Your kingdom. We love You Father, we praise You, and we thank You, and we ask and pray all of these things, in Jesus Christ’s name. Amen.” God bless all of you.
Jesus Speaks 