The Harvest Is Plentiful

Into every life a little rain must fall, says modern proverb. We know that dreary days are a part of life, just as much as sunny days. When the sun shines, we feel upbeat and excited, we want to get out of the house and enjoy. Equally true, when the dark clouds form and thunder rolls, we naturally want to stay inside…we snuggle under a blanket, drink warm tea and quietly read a book (or play video games). In any event, God has created us in such as way that we instinctively respond to our environment.

Jesus describes an environment in Matthew 9:37 – 38. He uses agricultural words to describe the environmental condition and in fact, “the people condition.” Jesus says: The Harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. For an agricultural audience Jesus just described an environment and created a sense of urgency that those of us in post-agricultural/post-industrial America may miss. Please let me explain.

Grain is planted in the spring months here in New England and is harvested in late summer. When grain is ready to be harvested, the head of the grain is very heavy and the strength of the stalk is weak. This is why you will see the grain/grass sway in the wind and the tips bend over slightly from the weight of the head. When the harvest is ready, the biggest threat to the crop is no longer pestilence, or bugs, but the weather. If a very HEAVY STORM comes, it will knock down and flatten the grain, because there is no strength in the stalk. A farmer will lose the crop as the earth & moisture corrode the very valuable grain found in the head.

As a boy growing up in a farming community and coming from a farming family, I assure you that when it was harvest time, ALL HANDS were on deck to bring in the harvest. I remember being 6 years old working with my grandfather, father and uncles stacking hay into the night hours. Being a 6 year old, I could not lift a 75 lb. bale of hay very well, but I was still responsible to do participate in the harvest. My uncle would throw the bails to me, so they fell into the stack almost perfectly and I would straighten them out.

By the time I was a teenager, our family farm was sold, but we lived in a German farming community. When it was harvest time, the doorbell rang and I was asked to bale hay. On the wagon I worked next Frau Schneider, a grandmother who knew how to handle herself. EVERYONE – no matter their age, gender, strength or weakness has a role to play in Harvest season. If not…if no one shows up to work…if everyone has an excuse…the Harvest will be lost.

Jesus is saying: The Environment of People is HARVEST and it is PLENTIFUL…this means that people are ready to respond to the good news in great number. But there is a problem, The Environment of Christian Workers are few. This means that unless we ASK the LORD for more workers and BECOME WORKERS OURSELVES…the Harvest will be lost. A strong Storm will blow into someone’s life and flatten them. However, as we obey (Matt 9:37-38) and pray – THE LORD of the HARVEST will send us into his field (Matt 10) and GREAT will be the HARVEST of PEOPLE.

Let us become a church that understands the urgency and the bounty of GOD’S HARVEST.