"When he (Jesus) saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”" Matthew 9:36-38
Harvest time is here, and schools up and down the country will be collecting food for charity whilst holding celebrations of thanksgiving for the food we eat. But Jesus had a different kind of harvest in mind when he spoke the words recorded for us in Matthew 9. A harvest not of wheat but of souls for the kingdom of God, a gathering not of fruits but of a people redeemed from sin.
When Jesus looked at people He looked with compassion. Compassion for their lostness, their need to know Him and be saved, coupled with the fewness of those prepared to go out among them and spread the good news so that they might be gathered in.
Are our hearts moved with the same compassion for those lost souls around us who don’t know Jesus? The compassion of Christ took Him to the cross, to suffer and die, and purchase eternal life for His people. Will we be driven by the same compassion to go out, into the harvest field of this world, and labour to bring in those who are ‘harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd?’
Often we feel weak, and the workers are few, but if we go out with prayer and faithfulness we can be confident that the Lord of the Harvest will bless our efforts and His kingdom will grow.
“Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain.” (1 Cor. 15:58)
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