"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."
The words that stuck with me most were "Four months more and then the harvest?" How many times have I said that in my own heart? "I'll share Jesus with that loved one the 'next time' I get the opportunity." "I need to call ________, but I can't now." "_________is not ready to hear about what God is doing in my life, maybe next time." "I know You're urging me to share You, Jesus, but I'm just not ready yet. Maybe when I know the Bible better, take a class, and pray more eloquently, maybe then, maybe then.
Am I secretly waiting for the "Farmer"or someone more qualified, better at it, more skilled, more versed to come and harvest the field? At times I think so, but I know that is just the evil one trying to keep the "workers few". What I need is a daily reminder that the Spirit of the Living God lives IN ME, and it's HIM that is the true harvester. All He asks of me is to be totally available to Him and His living His Life through me. He is the Farmer. He has all the tools, the skills, the Combine to harvest the plentiful fields, but because Jesus isn't here in the flesh anymore, He chooses to use earthly vessels (you and me) to harvest the plentiful fields.
So let's take "I'll start Monday" out of our vocabulary. Let's seize the opportunities that God puts in front of us every day to be His Hands, His Feet, and His Voice. He doesn't call us to be scholars. If He did, He wouldn't have chosen 12 unschooled, ordinary men to be His disciples. He uses ordinary people like you and me every day. He doesn't need perfection, He just needs our availability.
Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. (Matthew 9:37)
