You May Not Reap The Harvest!

One of the most rewarding aspects of doing yard work in the heat of the summer is the feeling of accomplishment you get when a project is completed. You know what I mean – even if you do not do yard work. We all want to see completion, or a harvest, from the work that we do. Even God is like this in Genesis 1 when He looks at His work and sees that it is good!

Back To Basics

Because of my recent dry spell, I have determined that I am going to dig back into God’s Word and get back to the basics of my relationship with Him. In the process, I have begun to see a little more light at the end of the tunnel. While not yet a flowing river, I can sense a new trickle of communication flowing into my heart.

Jesus Talks About Harvest

In a recent quiet time, I was reading about Jesus and His interaction at the well with a Samaritan woman. In describing the unfolding scene to the disciples, Jesus uses the analogy of a harvest. He talks about how the people that need to hear about Him are ripe and ready for the harvest of accepting the gospel.

Then Jesus said something that I did not understand at first:

For in this case the saying is true: ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap what you didn’t labor for; others have labored, and you have benefited from their labor.
John 4:37-38

It Applies To Us!

When I looked at a commentary on this passage, I realized how much this statement applies to me (and you) and should give us hope! Let me explain.

It is very likely that Jesus was referring the disciples to the Samaritan woman’s knowledge of the Messiah (John 4:25). The only way she could have known about the Messiah (she was not a Jew) was to have read about Him in the Scriptures or to have been told by someone who did.

They Did Not See Harvest!

As Jesus explains to the disciples that others have sown the seeds and labored, He is likely referring to the authors of the Scriptures. Think about those prophets that never saw the harvest of people accepting the Gospel.

Think about the hardship they endured as they lived through heartache, disappointment, and frustration – speaking God’s message to deaf ears! Yet despite this, they continued on. In the process, they sowed seeds that would reap a harvest many hundreds of years later!

Jesus was trying to point this out to the disciples. They needed to understand that they were benefiting from the work of others as they witnessed to these Samaritans coming out from the town.

Same True For Us!

Jesus is also speaking to us!

He is telling us that there are going to be times when we are the ones fortunate enough to reap a harvest for which someone else has sown the seeds. Maybe this is a new employee that comes to us, already asking questions about why we have committed our businesses to God.

Maybe we will have the opportunity to run a business that was built by someone else – giving us the resources and flexibility to do kingdom work that otherwise would not be possible!

The Opposite Is Also True!

He is also telling us very clearly that sometimes it is the other way around. While we may want to be the one bringing in the harvest – putting points on the board – it may be that He has ordained us to simply sow the seeds.

Neither job relating to the harvest is worth more than the other. The harvest will not come without the seeds. Both jobs are fully reliant upon the other.

Someone Else’s Harvest?

My application is that there are times I really feel like I am not gaining any ground for the kingdom. When the harvest appears to be drying up and my efforts seem to be for naught, I must remember that I may only be in a season of sowing seeds. The harvest may be ordained for someone else.

If I can remember this truth, then it is easier for me to have hope in my work. It is easier to keep giving my full effort despite the apparent lack of results. Maybe the same is true for you.

Simply Follow Jesus

So, regardless of the appearance of a harvest or not, it is our job to follow Jesus. We are to sow seeds when it is time and reap the harvest when it is time. We are not to look around and wonder why it looks different for others – we are to follow Him!