As Jesus prepares to send out 72 of his followers to prepare
the villages that he intends to visit for his arrival, he shares with them a
perennial problem that confronts the Church, “The harvest is plentiful, but the
workers are few”. Until the invention of
mechanized harvesting equipment, labor shortages during the labor intensive
harvest were a life and death problem.
Taken as a whole, there is always a greater opportunity for acceptance
of the Gospel than there are those willing and able to share it. Why would God allow such a crucial role in
his plan to be filled by mankind, why not simply call men to himself as his did
with the Apostle Paul? One of the
reasons for God’s utilization of his people for this task is the role that
witnessing to the Gospel plays in our own process of spiritual maturity. Helping to save the lost is beneficial to
those who are already found.
Given
that a shortfall of labor is a common problem for the Church, what are we to
do? “Ask the Lord of the harvest”, Jesus
continues by reminding his followers that the business they are about is not
their own, it is God’s. God is the Lord
of the harvest, he may not be working personally in the field, but that doesn’t
mean that his will is not at work in hearts and minds of both those sharing and
those hearing about God’s love. Ask God
what? Jesus prescribed solution is
simple, “to send out workers into his harvest field.” Our obedience to the call to bear witness in
our world begins with prayer. Prayer for
those two whom the message needs to go, whether we know them personally and are
praying in specific terms, or if we simply pray in general for our town, our
country, or the work of missionaries we support. In addition to praying for those hearing the
message, we need to pray for those giving it.
If we’re going to the Lord in prayer, we need to remember that our own
hearts must be open to being a part of the answer. When we pray that the Lord send forth
workers, we’re praying that he send us as well.
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