34 Jesus explained, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work.

35 Do you not say, ‘There are still four months until the harvest’? I tell you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are ripe for harvest.

— John 4:34-35

23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.

— 1 Peter 1:23

37 Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.
38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest.”

— Matthew 9:37-38

2 And 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.

–Luke 10:2

Thoughts on Today’s Reading

Multiplied grace and mercy to you from Christ!

While carrying out His earthly ministry, Jesus grasp opportunities to offer physical illustration to teach deeper spiritual truth. For example, when He passed fields where planting, growing and awaiting harvest took place, Jesus graciously raised the thinking of His disciples from the expected sequence of a physical harvest to spiritual harvest God brings in the lives of people. Farmers prepare the soil, plant seeds, remove weeds, pray for rain and eventually harvest a crop.

In the spiritual realm, God’s Word is sown into human hearts. Sometimes people respond in faith immediately. At other times, God’s people wait patiently for a harvest of faith. In framing, the ripeness of the crop creates urgency to reap the harvest. Similarly, God calls believers to recognize both the fleeting nature and constant supply of spiritual opportunities. We never have a guarantee of more time to invest in others and sow the seed of the gospel. And yet we live surrounded by spiritual need in people all around us. Let’s answer to Jesus’ calling of sowing seeds into people’s hearts and harvesting people for eternal life.