Pastor Ritter ~ October
The Fields are Ripe!
“Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.” John 4:35 NIV
October in the midwest is the time for harvest. Farmers will be hard at work this month harvesting the crops they planted in the Spring and cared for throughout the Summer. On a smaller scale, if you’re a gardener now is the time you are seeing the fruits of your labor. Here at church, many have benefited from generous folks bringing in and sharing from their gardens and it has been appreciated.
Around here, we see a lot of corn, potatoes, beans, and of course cranberries that will be harvested this fall. In Jesus’ context you would have seen wheat and we see evidence of this in the gospels with reference to wheat several times. In John Chapter 4 Jesus is having a conversation with his disciples and they are urging him to eat something, but Jesus says he has food that they do not know about. Perplexed by this he says, “my food is to do the will of Him who sent me and finish His work”
A gardener or a farmer is able to provide food for himself and his family through the fruits of his labor. The fruits of Jesus’ labor are to seek and save the lost sinners of this world and he is saying the fields are ripe for harvest. The ESV actually says “white with harvest” referring to the wheat fields that are ripe and appear white in the sun. Yet, Jesus is not referring to fields of wheat because evidence would point that it was still four months out. So what is Jesus referring to?
Clearly Jesus is referring to people who are ready to hear about the coming kingdom of God. Here at Immanuel, much work has been taking place to establish new ministries and grow or strengthen existing ministries. We have built a new and more accessible building with space for ministry to take place. Not only that, we are living in a time where people are awakening to a need for God in their life. Jesus is right in saying that the fields are ripe for harvest. Like Jesus, our work is also to do God’s will, and while we cannot finish His work, we can labor alongside him in His Kingdom: Sharing the Love of Jesus with others, Growing in our Faith together and Serving Community all around us and beyond. The fields are ripe, let’s get busy harvesting!