The Harvest Within

“The harvest is so great, and the workers are so few,” He told His disciples. “So pray to the one in charge of the harvesting, and ask Him to recruit more workers for His harvest fields.”—Matthew 9:37-38

Everyone wants their life to make a difference. Not everyone is an evangelist. So, what do you do with this verse? You begin by taking it personally…

…It was not on the original Saturday “to do” list, but with a week of rain in the forecast and the morning breaking sunny and mild, there was no better time than now for tackling spring yard work. The task ahead loomed large, but with the invigoration of mild air in my lungs, no winter coat, and thermal gloves replaced by the blister-preventative type, progress was swift and joyful:

Raking the lawn of its winter debris, digging deep to loosen up the tough and stubborn areas, persistently going over areas besieged by sand from what the snowblower kicked up, admiring the fruit of your labor, and then adding nutrients to prevent moss and dandelions and other persistent invaders, and finally a healthy spreading of turf food….all before the rains came.

“Plant the good seeds of righteousness, and you will reap a crop of My love; plow the hard ground of your hearts, for now is the time to seek the LORD, that He may come and shower salvation upon you.”—Hosea 10:12, Living

You don’t have to be an evangelist to be a harvester of things that truly matter. But you do have to team with the Master Gardener to prepare the soil of your own heart first, and rake up debris of complacency and the dirt that simply comes from walking through this world, so that God might plant a harvest of righteousness—one who is “right with God”—within you.

And it all starts with the ministry of the interior so that you can begin to see and sense and feel like Jesus in His "harvest" declaration as you go about your day. It always starts on the inside so that, like Him, your heart will become more tender, compassionate, quick to listen and slower to speak, and become acutely aware of the “sheep without a shepherd” who walk through your life. To be ready and in season (not just early spring) for His invitation to step into a particular situation, a life, someone’s prayer request, and then carry the Light of the world who is within you—His healing touch-handshake-hug-knowing look, His words of comfort and encouragement that go beyond feel-good sentences, and the testimony of hope from the Father’s works that have been alive and real and that are still pulsating within your own veins….

….in the middle of blissful yard work, an ambulance arrives at the neighbor’s home down the street. A loved one who had been ill is no more. Soon, family members arrive in various stages of shock and sorrow. It would be easy to do nothing—this is a private family moment, after all. Besides, definitely out of my comfort zone to step in. But what would Jesus do? There they are right in front of me: “sheep without a shepherd.” So probably, as in many examples in the Gospels, He would give Himself away to the moment.

I desperately wanted to avoid it all, and yet I desperately wanted to reach out in some meaningful way without being a pushy neighbor. Blessedly, the same Jesus who the Gospels say over and over again knew the hearts of those around him without them speaking a single word, provided a similar open door: As I was driving by, I noticed the oldest son, who I had known many years, out at his truck. The conversation began with surface neighborly type stuff and then quickly to the situation at hand. We were able to shake hands, and celebrate the life that had passed, and share funny stories, and then end with “know that I’m praying for you all.” (Most of the family probably hadn't grasped the fact that the one who had just passed had given His life to the Lord, thanks to another harvest worker in his life, and was now safely in the peace and joy of Eternity.)

And who knows what will come of all of that, other than that two seeds had been planted that day: the one in my neighbor’s heart, and more importantly, the one in my own.

The harvest of righteousness that comes from tilling the soil of your own heart may or not include finding a moment to include the “Four Spiritual Laws” but if the tilling has been good and frequent, the fruit should be abundant, fertilized by the good Word and watered by the power that comes from spending time in His presence. And fruit that grows in the form of generosity—not just in stuff but in attitude and especially with your own time and comfort zone.

It could be as simple as picking up a rake on a Saturday morning...

“For God who gives seed to the farmer to plant, and later on good crops to harvest and eat, will give you more seed to plant and will make it grow so that you can give away more and more fruit from your harvest.”—2 Corinthians 9:10