The Harvest is Plentiful...
The harvest is plentiful…
I was recently struck by Jesus’ words in the parable of the weeds in Mathew 13:24–30.
It reminded me of how difficult it is to explain something to someone who has no concept of what I am trying to tell them and so the best I can do is communicate using examples of things they are familiar with to help them grasp what I am saying. The example that immediately comes to mind is me trying to explain the Kenyan staple food Ugali.
The words I usually use are, think of polenta or think of the Hawaiian dish Poi or think of cornbread. Of course, none of these can truly describe Ugali until you see it and taste it.
Jesus wants us to have an idea of what the kingdom of heaven is like and therefore uses parables that describe what it’s like because we truly cannot comprehend what it is. He tells of a man who sowed good seed and an enemy who came and sowed weeds among the good seed. He tells us of the weeds growing as the good seed also grew. We are told of the servants who are alarmed at the weeds and want to go and pull out the weeds.
I was struck by Jesus’s reply about the danger; In the process of pulling out the weeds, there is danger of harming the good seed that has now sprouted into wheat. I was even more struck by the assurances Jesus gives the workers to wait until the harvest at which time He would give the instructions to first harvest the weeds to be burned and then gather the wheat.
This seems to resonate with the words of Jesus in Mathew 9:37-38 that the harvest is plentiful, but we are to ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his field. Workers who have been instructed in how to go about the harvest. These passages have been brought keenly to me especially in the light of the political turmoil both in Kenya and here in the US and the many conversations with friends, family and acquaintances that almost always lead to the current politics. Conversations that are often God-given opportunities to be a light for Jesus in those moments. Yet, I have found myself getting in the way of God when I am inclined to try and get people to see things my way. I have been reminded to wait on the Lord in my efforts to ‘set things straight’ in terms of the gospel and truth and my convictions. I am being reminded that advancing the Kingdom of God is about listening intently to Jesus so that my actions and words do not harm or ‘uproot’ another believer. That I can trust the Lord of the harvest to guide my conversations and my words. “Be wise in the way you act towards outsiders, make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt so that you may know how to answer everyone” (Colossians 4:5-6).
May you be mindful of the “plentiful harvest.” May you be intentional in these politically charged days to choose to lean into the Lord of the harvest. It’s his kingdom and his harvest field that we have been invited into as believers.