The Fall Season is a Perfect Time to Reflect on God's Eternal Harvest

Coffee With God: 11/7/2024 | Luke 10:2

Harvest is a beautiful time of year - brightly colored leaves swirl in the crisp fall air, fields are dotted with neatly stacked hay bales, farmers’ markets teem with crates of fresh produce and piles of pumpkins - what’s not to love?

But the harvest doesn’t come automatically. First, planting and fertilizing must be done in the spring, followed by tending and watering crops throughout the sweltering days of summer. Finally, the time to reap and process the harvest comes in the autumn. God bless the farmers!

Jesus compared serving in God’s kingdom to working in a harvest field. Those of us who have never worked with crops may not find this concept relatable. However, since ancient Israel was largely an agrarian society, Jesus’ analogy resonated perfectly with his original audience.

Luke’s gospel records an account of Jesus sending out 72 of his followers to spread the gospel, telling them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.” He then admonishes them to “pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest” (10:2). The gospels are full of examples of this type of harvest. Let’s delve into one familiar account.

In chapter 4 of John’s gospel, we read about an encounter Jesus had with a Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well while his disciples were going to procure food. Following a brief conversation with Jesus, the woman returned to her village, inviting everyone she met to “come see a man who told me all that I ever did” (v.29).

When Jesus’ disciples returned with food, they were surprised to discover he had engaged in dialogue with an outsider - a Samaritan woman, no less! He explained to them, “I have food to eat that you know not of” (v.32). Seeing their confusion, he added, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me” (v. 34). He then directed them to “look and see that the fields are white for harvest” (v. 35).

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Just as planting and watering are prerequisites to harvesting crop, planting and watering also precede the harvest in God’s economy.

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Just then, the Samaritan woman returned with a crowd of her fellow villagers, many of whom put their faith in Jesus after hearing her testimony. Many more believed after hearing Jesus themselves. This is precisely the type of harvest to which Jesus referred (See verses 39-42).

Just as planting and watering are prerequisites to harvesting crops, planting and watering also precede the harvest in God’s economy.  Jesus explained to his disciples that, “The one who reaps gathers a harvest for eternal life, so the sower and the reaper may rejoice together” (v.36). He went on to explain, “The saying, ‘One plants and another harvests’ is true” (v. 37).

Sometime later, the apostle Paul reminded the church in Corinth, "Neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who gives the growth. The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their labor” (1 Corinthians 3:7-8).

The apostles did not seek their own glory; they focused on serving in God’s harvest for his glory! They were faithful to the work God had given them to do and left the results to him, knowing that in due time, they would “reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9).

The harvest truly is plentiful today, but just as in Jesus’ day, the workers are few. There are a plethora of opportunities for all who are willing to work in God’s harvest!

Churches and faith-based organizations such as food banks, crisis pregnancy centers, online ministries, such as That You May Know Him and others, need skilled individuals with integrity who are passionate about the harvest to offer their time and talents to serve in various capacities for the glory of God.

What about you? Do you have a gift, skill, or talent that God is calling you to use in your local church, community, foreign mission field, or even online?

Thanks to God’s faithful servants throughout the ages, the gospel has been spread around the world, but there are still multitudes of hungry people who do not know the Lord in a personal way! We are compelled to pray earnestly for the Lord to send laborers into his harvest. And as we pray, may we also say, “Here am I, Lord, send me” (Isaiah 6:8).

The Fall Season is a Perfect Time to Reflect on God's Eternal Harvest.