We often think evangelism is about finding the "right" people at the "right" time. But what if the problem isn't that people aren't ready for the gospel? What if the problem is that there aren't enough workers willing to go into a harvest that's already ripe?
John 4:35-36 "Do you not say, 'There are yet four months, then comes the harvest'? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life."
Jesus gives His disciples an analogy they would understand. Typically, there are four months between sowing and reaping. But Jesus is getting at this idea that sometimes in our minds, we think there are certain people who are "right" for the gospel and others who are far away. "This person might be ready, but that one? That's going to take a lot of time for the gospel to penetrate their hard heart."
But Jesus says the harvest has already begun. The problem isn't the sowing - it's already here. The harvest is plentiful. So why are so many people lost? It's not because there's no harvest. It's because the harvest is plentiful and the workers are few.
Think supply and demand. The Bible says one of the chief reasons the world is so lost is there's more demand for the gospel than there are faithful ambassadors going out and engaging people about Jesus Christ.
Jesus tells them to lift up their eyes and look on the fields. Most commentators agree that Jesus was actually directing their gaze to the white robes of the Samaritans walking from their village to where He was sitting at the well. It was the middle of the day, they had just eaten their noonday meal, and yet here they were, hungry for something only God could offer.
"Look at them," Jesus says. "Look to the fields of human souls. It's ripe for harvest."
Go to the airport, park, mall, or grocery store and people-watch - Jesus says, it鈥檚 ripe for harvest. There are sinful souls that need a Savior and hungry hearts that need to find fulfillment in their Heavenly Father.
The disciples, seeing Samaria in the distance, probably thought, "This is impossible. Let's not waste our time here. These are not the type of people that are right for the plucking." But through one woman's testimony of a transformed life, the opposite proved true. The harvest was plentiful - it just needed the words of the Savior.
1. Do you see people around you as a "plentiful harvest" or as projects that might take too much work?
2. What excuses do you make for not engaging others with the gospel? Are they really valid?
3. How can you start seeing your everyday interactions - at work, school, or in your neighborhood - as opportunities in a ready harvest field?
Stay dialed in,
Jonny Ardavanis