The Harvest is Plentiful – July 29, 2019

After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”
Luke 10:1,2

The Harvest is Plentiful

You plant your garden and spend all summer tending it. You eagerly watch the beans grow and the tomatoes ripen. But when the time comes, you’re too busy to pick them. It’s a shame when vegetables rot because they are not harvested.

It’s an even greater shame when souls are not harvested. Jesus says that the world is ripe for harvest. There are countless people who do not know that he is their Savior and they are waiting to be harvested with that good news.

Don’t miss the promise in Jesus’ words: “many will believe and go to heaven.” The harvest is plentiful. There’s only one problem: the workers are few. Today, there are more than seven billion people in the world and only two billion Christians. Taking the gospel to over five billion people is a daunting task.

So notice what Jesus does: he prepares harvest workers and sends seventy-two disciples into the field. But before they go, he tells them to pray for more help. This is a reminder that we are completely dependent on God’s power to carry out his work.

A successful harvest does not depend on our skills or resourcefulness; it depends on Jesus. He has already done all the hard work. He lived a perfect life for the harvest, he died and rose for the harvest. He has given us the tools to bring it in: his Word, his baptism, and his true body and blood in the Lord’s Supper.

The harvest is plentiful. So he calls us to pray for his help and work with the confidence that he will meet all our needs and bless our efforts.

Prayer:
Lord of the harvest, send workers into your harvest field and bless our labor. Amen.