JOHN 4:35-36
Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together.
Things change around a farm when it’s harvest season. The activity increases one hundredfold, and the day the farmer gets paid draws closer. If they reap a bountiful harvest, his/her wages will reflect that, but they often lose money if the harvest is weak. Christians are called to reap a harvest as well. The fields you are called to harvest is the place God has you right now. Those who do will receive their wages in heaven.
Jesus uses the analogy of fields that need to be harvested to get His point across. He starts by describing how the fields are ripe, to the point of going bad. If you take too long to harvest your crops, you run the risk of rotting. Then Jesus says that those reaping are receiving wages and storing up fruit for eternal life. If you are evangelizing the lost, you will receive a reward in heaven. Jesus is encouraging every believer to share the Gospel.
At the end of this passage, there is an interesting line, “so the sower and reaper may rejoice.” Some plant the seeds of the Gospel in hearts, and others come along and reap. Paul mentioned this in 1 Corinthians 3:7, where he refers to one planting and another watering. You may share the Gospel, and the person doesn’t respond, but later on, they give their life to Jesus. Jesus says that the sower and reaper will rejoice together.
Everyone is called to harvest. The fields are still ripe. There are lost and hurting people who need the solution to their problems, Jesus Christ. Ask the Lord to give you opportunities to tell others about Him. Pray for those close to you who don’t know Jesus. Be open to divine appointments God brings into your life where you can bridge the subject of salvation.
