And He was saying to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.
Luke 10:2
In these troubled times we live in, I still believe this verse is pertinent for us as people are looking for truth and someone to really trust in, but the laborers in God’s kingdom trying to bring in the harvest are very few. The command from scripture is for us to pray to our Lord and ask for Him to send His servants into the fields/world we live in to help people find Jesus Christ for salvation. Our culture is ripe with people who have no hope and no direction in their life and need the light of God to show them the way. Jesus told us we are the lights that God uses to show the way to eternal life in Matthew 5:14-16. The problem in the time of Jesus is much the same today; people are reluctant to give witness and testimony of God to others and do the “work” of harvest or helping others in their faith life. If we want committed and faithful workers, we will not find them by guilting them or manipulating them into service, that will surely fail over time, but rather relying on God’s Spirit to bring the calling to others and empower them for service. Perhaps the problem lies in how many do “church” now. The focus has turned from us being servants of God to being consumers and a people who are to be made “happy” in life without any personal sacrifice. As people hear messages about having all their needs met without any call to serve our Lord in gratitude, what is created is not followers of Jesus, but self-serving religious people. Why would anyone sacrifice for Jesus when they are being told that the end game is to be comfortable and to have much money, health and influence? If church leadership are happy to just have numbers and good offerings rather than true disciples, how can we expect our people to serve the Lord even unto death? (Revelation 2:10) Let us be clear in our message; if Jesus is your Savior and Lord, He is worthy of any sacrifice and effort to help others also find forgiveness in Him. Let us pray with fervency that God’s Spirit stir up others to help reach people while we have time to do so as judgment day is certainly approaching. Now is the time to live for God and to be about His business of Kingdom work! Living this way is the path to joy, peace, purpose and the knowledge that the Living God is being honored and pleased while other people are being blessed.
Love in Christ,
Pastor Gary Houdek