I am sure that many of us have noticed the extra farm vehicles on the road recently. In southwest Minnesota it is harvest time, and I love it.
This love for the harvest began in me at an early age. I have fond memories of riding with my grandpa in the combine or my uncles in the tractor pulling wagons.
I also remember the rides to the elevator, and if I was good, there might have been a glass bottle of Bubble Up or Orange Crush in it for me.
As I grew, so did my love for harvest. When I got old enough, I was asked to drive tractor or to empty wagons and fill the bins.
Even as an adult I still get excited about harvest, knowing there will be opportunities for me to drive a tractor or even ride in a combine. I have found as a pastor that farmers don’t mind it a bit to have a rider for a round or two.
Hopefully for the farmers in our area it is a bountiful and safe harvest.
As I see the combines in the field gathering the grain, I am also reminded of a great need for a harvester. Jesus talks about this in John 4:35. “You know the saying, ‘Four months between planting and harvest.’ But I say, wake up and look around. The fields are already ripe for harvest.” (NLT)
Jesus is compelling his followers to be involved in the harvest. In fact, Jesus explains in Matthew 28:19-20 that we are to go and make disciples of all nations.
The job of every single believer in Jesus is to be a disciple maker. That is how the great harvest happens. It is you and I sharing the love of God and teaching people to embrace the new life that God desires to bless people with.
As a pastor for the last couple of decades, I have been witnessing a disturbing trend in the church. Instead of embracing our calling and working as disciple makers engaged in the joy of the harvest, the membership of the church has become consumers of religious goods and services.
We often approach church like spectators. We want to be fed. We want to be entertained. We want to be served. Don’t ask us to be teachers, to lead Bible studies, and certainly don’t ask me to share my faith with a neighbor or even a friend.
Making disciples isn’t even on our radar, and as far as the harvest goes, we are quick to remind each other we don’t know how.
Maybe we need to spend a little more time watching the combines in the field. They do the work. They don’t worry or concern themselves with the how. They simply do what the farmer, the master combine operator, guides the combine to do.
Let’s not fool ourselves. God is still at the controls. He is ready for the harvest, and he is now just waiting for the workers to respond to the call.
Wake up and look around! The fields are ripe for the harvest!
