Good Morning Friends,
“Do you not say, ‘Four months more and then
the harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe
for harvest. Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop
for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. Thus
the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. I sent you to reap what you
have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the
benefits of their labor.” (John 4:35-38)
When Jesus looked at the crowds of people
around Him, He saw things that others did not. Even His closest disciples could
not see what Jesus saw. When Jesus looked at the crowds, He saw people in need,
hurting people who were ripe for the good news of salvation. His closest
disciples didn’t see that. They didn’t have the spiritual discernment that
Jesus had. They didn’t have the heart for the people that Jesus had.
Neither do we!
We look at the crowds of people around us, in
our workplaces, our schools, our neighborhoods, and we see comfortable people,
largely satisfied with their lives. We see people that we don’t think want to
be bothered with the message of Jesus. We see people that we think just want to
be left alone, left to find their own way through the world.
But Jesus sees the crowd differently. He
looks deep into the hearts of people and sees their hurts. He sees their needs.
He sees the guilt they know they carry. He sees their anxieties, their uncertainties
about the future. He knows, if we would but be bold enough, many would listen
and many would hear and many would respond.
In Sychar of Samaria, the people were ready
to hear the Gospel and only Jesus could see that. His disciples missed it. In
our day and place, too, many are ready to hear the Gospel. Does only Jesus see
it? Or will we open our eyes to see the harvest that is around us and be bold enough
to enter into it?
His, by Grace,
Steve
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