Sowing and Reaping

What a great weekend! The finale of the Ultimate Chef was awesome. We are turned loose as a bunch of Gospel chef's to season our world with the good news of redemption. We are going to see a lot of seasoning taking place during our next series. Can't wait!

As we looked at John 4 this morning, I was intrigued by the series of events that evolved from Jesus sharing the Gospel with the woman at the well. Check this out:

Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to accomplish His work. Do you not say, 'There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest'? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes, and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest. Already he who reaps is receiving wages, and is gathering fruit for life eternal; that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. For in this case the saying is true, 'One sows and another reaps.' I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labor."
And from that city many of the Samaritans believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, "He told me all the things that I have done." So when the Samaritans came to Him, they were asking Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. And many more believed because of His word; and they were saying to the woman, "It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world." John 4:34-42 NASB

When Jesus told the disciples to "look up and see the whitened fields" they were witnessing the crowd of white-robed Samaritans coming out of the city in search of the Messiah that the woman told them she had encountered. Here was an opportunity to reap where the woman had sown. As Jesus said, "For in this case the saying is true, One sows and another reaps."

Our church is located in a tourist area. I talked with a couple today that come to church whenever they are in town. We are sowing into the lives of people who return home where someone else may reap. We have people come into our midst who are searching for something that someone else sowed into their lives and we have the privilege of reaping.

Ultimately it is the Lord who is at work. At some point, "It is no longer because of what a person has said or done, but it is because people encounter the Lord Himself, who is indeed the Savior of the world." Look at John 4:42 again.

It is great to reap, but it is just as great to sow. If we really look around us, we will see that there are opportunities everywhere. In some situations we sow seed into someone's life and in other cases we have the privilege of reaping where someone else has sown.

Let's rejoice together in God's harvest. That's my Wish.