28. Jesus tells about the spiritual harvest
– John 4:27-38
John 4:34 “My food,’ said Jesus, ‘is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.”
Jesus was talking about spiritual nourishment. It comes from our hunger to know God more and more. Internally, you can be fed by praying, worshiping, and reading your Bible. But, Jesus mentions that he is fed from actions extended outwards. It is doing the work that God has given to you to do. God gives you a yearning to do his work. As you accomplish God’s will of bringing salvation to the earth, you will become satisfied. Jesus hungered for the work God had given to him. He yearned to bring others closer to his father. If you want to follow Jesus’ example, hunger after the same things as him.
John 4:35-38 “Do no 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 no worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”
In this case, the fields Jesus is talking about are those who have yet to discover the truth about salvation. A great majority of Christians are too afraid to tell others about Christ. They are afraid of what people will think of them. Or, they figure that someone else will do the work for them. Worse so, some believe that God will do all the work to bring others to salvation so they do not need to do anything. Yes, God can do all things. But, God has asked you, as a believer, to help him out on his task of expanding his kingdom. He wants you to speak up. He has specific tasks that only you can fill. He has placed a specific talent in you that no one else has. You have work to do. Jesus tells us that we always have work to do when it comes to building God’s kingdom. Think about your own salvation. What if someone was too scared to share Christ with you? Or, what if that person figured that someone else may do the work instead? There would be no guarantee that you would even have a relationship with Christ. Your eternal life depended on them. So, other’s eternal life depends on you. Do you understand how enormous that responsibility is? Take your job seriously and do God’s work.
That being said, sometimes you are not the person to bring someone to Christ. Or, you may not have been the first person to share Jesus’ name to someone. That’s normal. Jesus teaches us about a sower and reaper. Sometimes, you need to plant the seed of Christianity in someone. Sometimes, you need to nurture that plant to help it grow. And, sometimes, you are the person who reaps the harvest and brings the person to communion with God. Look around you. Every person is at one of these stages. No one is excluded. Be observant and help people out where they are with their faith. There is work to do; but, the work may look different depending on the person.
