The Harvest is Plentiful... Even in Winter

"The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field." Matthew 9:37-38

As I have been reading through the gospels lately, I have have been especially drawn towards all of the agricultural parables and illustrations that Jesus uses to teach. Growing up in a suburb just outside of Washington, D.C., I never had any connection to farming or agriculture as a way of life. I knew there were people out there that farmed, but I really had no idea what they truly did. As such, many of these agricultural illustrations and parables were lost of me.

Then, a year and a half ago, I married my wonderful wife, who grew up on a farm, lived on a farm, and was still attempting to keep her hand in agriculture in any way possible. Opposites really do attract sometimes. As such, I started to help her out with her little agricultural endeavors such as milking goats, tending a vegetable garden, and many other jobs.

The point is that I now have newfound attraction to all of these agricultural illustrations that Jesus uses. This one in particular struck a chord with me today. The normal farmer has to plant seeds, care for crops, and then harvest after a long wait. Jesus tells us that the harvest is now. He says that the crop is ripe for the picking, and we need to get to work.

The harvest never is brought in by itself. It takes hard work, long hours, and a vision of what the great harvest will look like to realize the harvest. It also takes more than just one person. Many farmers get a lot of outside help during harvest season because without help, they would lose a portion of their crop.

As Jesus says, we need to pray and ask for more workers to head into the fields and gather in the harvest. We need more workers, more laborers, more Christians motivated by the Great Commission.

In the end, we need to get ourselves into the harvest field and work on bringing in the harvest, and we need to pray for partners to come along and help do the same.

The harvest is plentiful... so let's get to work!