Living WaterSample

Sowing and reaping

“Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest.” (John 4:35)

The book of Matthew records a parable of Jesus: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field” (Matthew 13:24). His goal is to have a rich harvest of “fruit for eternal life”. This imagery is used often in the Bible. Jesus uses it here to tell his disciples that “the fields are white for harvest”, meaning that many people will soon come to faith in Jesus as their Savior and King. In particular, this applies to the Samaritans who are on their way to the well, urged by the woman with whom Jesus has spoken. But the Gospel will spread even further than Judea and Samaria: “People will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom of God” (Luke 13:29).

Jesus is both sower and reaper at the same time. He speaks the Word of life and reaps its fruit. But He also involves people. He tells the disciples, “I sent you to reap”. The apostle Paul says in his letter to the Corinthians, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth … For we are God's fellow workers” (1 Corinthians 3:9).

Are you ready to be a fellow-worker with God?