Harvest

Matthew 9:35-38, "Jesus traveled through all the towns and villages of that area, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And he healed every kind of disease and illness. ³⁶ When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. ³⁷ He said to his disciples, “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. ³⁸ So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.” (NLT)

 

Our local church is preparing for an Outreach effort to our community on Saturday of this week. We desire to have our hearts turned toward the harvest field although the event will primarily focus on the children and youth of our community. God has reminded me that He is truly interested in every person regardless of their situation or circumstances. That attitude can be a challenge to us when we look at individuals and the conditions of their life. We can even become antagonistic toward the lifestyle decisions that people are making in this culture. But do the decisions and actions of people give us the right or the authority to withdraw the message of the Gospel from them? The sinful conditions of mankind was the reason that Christ entered this world. He came to be the Savior and Restorer of mankind into a right relationship with the Heavenly Father. John 3:16 reminds us that the Father loved the world enough that Christ came to die in our place on the cross. He paid the debt for my sins; He paid the debt for your sins; and He paid the debt for the sins of fallen humanity. Do not forget that we have a powerful and live changing message to declare. Do not forget that we have the power and authority of God standing with us as we declare the message. Do not forget that we have the call and mandate to declare the powerful Gospel message. I encourage you to allow the Spirit to give you a "new view" of the harvest field.  Jesus said that the "harvest is great" and that He is looking for "workers" to gather the harvest. Will you personally join with God in the work that awaits us in the harvest field?