The Harvest

In an age that has access to more information than any other in human history, it is amazing how much we know about technology compared to how little we know about agriculture.  Throughout the Bible, there are many references to agriculture, hearding, etc.  In today's world, we can easily miss an important Biblical concept, simply by not being acclimated to the ins and outs of agriculture.  I am not saying that we are incapable of understanding, merely that we may overlook things that would otherwise be obvious to one who lived the agricultural lifestyle.  There are many references in the Bible to sowing (planting) and reaping (harvesting).  There is a time frame that this happens in.  One doesn't plant a seed one day and awaken the next day to a full crop.  There are many days in between, days of watering, weeding, chasing off birds, and many other seemingly little tasks that make all the difference in the world for the seed to sprout, germinate, grow, produce fruit/grain, etc.  Even after the growth has occurred, the crop has a narrow window of time that it must be harvested...less it spoil on the vine and become food for insects, birds, etc.  I point all of this out not as a lesson on agriculture, but to think through the importance of sharing the gospel, becoming a Christian, growing, maturing, etc.

The passage that brought me to think about this: After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. (Luke 10:1, 2 ESV)

The 1st thing is that The Lord sent people ahead of him (in agriculture, you plow the soil before planting the seeds).  Jesus knew the amount of seed He was about to lay down, He knew the amount of yield He was going to get, and He knew that there is a limited amount of time in which to Harvest the fruit.  Yes, we need to be sharing the gospel (tilling the soil, planting seeds, etc.) yet we also need to Harvest that which is planted.  When things are harvested, they are put to good use to nourish other things (typically food).  So when someone becomes a believer, that is the plant sprouting, when it begins to produce fruit, that is when it is able to be used for the purpose that it was planted to begin with.  There are many Christ followers in the world, and many will say that they do not know their purpose, their spiritual gift, etc (nor do I or will I claim to be an expert on the subject).  

So here it is, the question that got me thinking about all of this:  What is the purpose of the laborer who is sent into the the Lord's harvest to do?  I used to think it was a 3 step process, share the gospel, and once people got saved, equip them to share the gospel, then start over again.  After much thought about this passage, I still feel this is one of the points that Jesus was making, however, I also think that He was making the point that there are all kinds of fruits to be harvested, some take longer to grow than others, and some need different things than others.  The fruit isn't the issue, it is getting it all rounded up.  

The thought I would leave you with tonight is this, what could we be doing to help make sure that all kinds of fruit are being harvested?  Not just planting the seeds of the gospel, but developing, discipling, mentoring, encouraging, identifying spiritual gifts, etc.  It takes all kinds of laborers to do that sort of task...and now, more than ever, I see the value in praying that The Lord would send laborers out into His harvest.