Flourish: Living a Fruitful Lifeਨਮੂਨਾ

DAY 6 / The Harvester – People Are Our Purpose

You’ve done so much work already...dealing with change and pressure, planting and watering seeds - well done! And now it’s time to chill. Nope, not quite - now it’s time for a harvest! As Christians, this idea of reaping a harvest isn’t just about gaining possessions or amassing wealth. For us, it’s about fulfilling our God given purpose on earth.

Can you imagine a farmer who’s done all the work that it takes to get to the point of having a field full of crops ready to harvest, and then at that point, they grow weary and don’t reap the harvest?

If you feel that you’ve grown weary by the time it’s harvesting season – you’re not alone. That is completely normal! Even Paul says in Galatians 6:9 NIV, “So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.”

You may have heard Matthew 9:37 NIV: “The harvest is great, but the workers are few.” What type of harvest is Jesus referring to? Leading up to this verse, Jesus had been travelling around, healing diseases and having compassion on the crowds. It's clear in these verses what His idea of a harvest is: people – minds and bodies healed, souls set free by the Gospel, and confusion and helplessness replaced by clarity and purpose. This is why He prays in verse 38 for the Lord to send more workers into “His fields”.

Are you mindful of the fact that you are working in His fields? In John 15:16 NIV, Jesus encourages us, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.”

Where do you find yourself today? What fields are you in? Jesus says that YOU have been chosen and appointed to bear lasting fruit there! To “harvest” actually means to gather a crop. You may even find yourself in fields where others have planted seeds, but you have been placed there to gather the fruit. Who are the people around you who need to be invited into a flourishing way of life?

Don’t grow weary, don’t give up, and remember that you have been specifically chosen and appointed. Wherever He’s planted you, that’s His field that He’s inviting you to cultivate and harvest.

Reflection:

In what fields Has God placed you? What will it look like to see a flourishing harvest there - who will that affect and how?