BE GLAD FOR YOUR PART IN THE HARVEST

Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. —John 4:36-37

Both the sower and reaper are needed for a crop to be harvested. If one does not sow the seed there will be no harvest and if one does not reap the field there will be no harvest. Both are needed for there to be a harvest and both are to be glad together for the harvest.

Remember, it is not just the one who is present that is glad when a person trusts the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation; it is also the person who shared the gospel beforehand that will be glad as well. In I Corinthians 3:5-8 Paul said, “What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor.”

Not only the person who is present when another trusts the Lord will be rewarded, but also the one who initially share the gospel with the person and those who have share with the person along the way. There are those who sow the gospel in a person’s life, there are those who water the gospel in that person’s life and then there are those present when that person trusts the Lord. All will be rewarded for their labor. The important thing to remember is that it is God who causes the seed to grow to the point of harvest (I Corinthians 3:7). No man can cause that to happen. No man can take credit for that. Only God can cause His Word to grow to the point of harvest.

Have you been active in the planting, watering or reaping of the harvest? If so, then be glad. The Lord has assigned each a task. Be faithful in the task the Lord has given to you. Be involved and be glad for the part the Lord has given to you in the harvest.

Dear Father, may I be faithful in planting Your Word in people’s lives, watering Your Word in people’s lives and seeing Your Word bring a harvest in peoples’ lives. I am so glad to be able to be a part of the harvest that You cause to grow. May I be faithful in the part You have given me.