Opportunity, right under our nose
Whenever we’re looking for something, why is it so hard to see that it’s sitting on the counter? Or at the front of the shelf in the fridge, staring us in the face?
We can be so intent in our search for something that we fail to notice our goal is not that difficult to find. Apparently, I’m not the only one! Because Jesus’ disciples also suffered from far-sightedness.
On their journey from Judea in the south to Galilee in the north, they stopped at a well outside of a town called Sychar. Jesus stayed at the well to rest and sent the disciples into town to purchase food. When they returned from Sychar, Jesus refused their food and explained to them that He was going to delay eating, due to the task at hand. However, they didn’t understand why. So, Jesus used a farming analogy to help them understand:
John 4:35-38
“Don’t you say, ‘There are still four more months, and then comes the harvest’? Listen to what I’m telling you: Open your eyes and look at the fields, because they are ready for harvest. The reaper is already receiving pay and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that the sower and reaper can rejoice together. For in this case the saying is true: ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap what you didn’t labor for; others have labored, and you have benefited from their labor.”
There are still four more months, and then comes the harvest – This was likely a common cultural phrase which cites the amount of time a farmer must wait before he started gathering the useful food. It could easily be used as a proverb instructing the Jews to be patient and wait for a desired outcome. Plants have obvious characteristics that demonstrate their fruit is ripe and ready. Those tell-tale signs of development are what the farmer watches for to know that harvest time has finally arrived.
The disciples had not sowed Jesus’ message among the outsiders in Samaria. As such, they may have assumed that these people would not be ready to accept Jesus’ offer of eternal life or be allowed to participate in His coming kingdom. After all, Samaritans were not accepted as part of Israel. The combination of their mixed history and ignorance of God’s prophecies would appear to exclude them from being ready to believe in Jesus as the Messiah. I’m sure that the disciples expected to just eat in this town and then keep moving on their journey so they could preach the good news to the Jews living in Galilee.
In contrast, and certainly to their surprise, Jesus tells the disciples that harvest time for the Samaritans was happening now.
Jesus cautioned them against falling back on the farming proverb in this situation, telling them to open your eyes to the harvest of people around them. It can be difficult for us to admit, but us believers can sometimes be blind to the work in front of us. Planning for church services and future events is necessary and important, but we cannot overlook harvest work among those around us every day.
Here, in this small section of Scripture, we find a command from Jesus for all of us to obey – Listen to what I’m telling you: Open your eyes and look at the fields, because they are ready for harvest.
As such, we need to ask ourselves: Am I missing opportunities to share Jesus with others because I’m overlooking the obvious?
Don’t write someone off because they don’t “look ready” to you. Love them like Jesus loves you. Talk to them the way Jesus talks to you. You may be surprised at the harvest, right in front of you.
Keep Pressing,
Ken