WORSHIP WEDNESDAY: BE A "LABOURER" IN THE HARVEST

​It is officially fall, and it is also blogtober here on TheOpinionatedOne.com. That means that I’m trying really hard to keep everything on theme for this month.
 
Today, I thought my “message” of sorts could be about harvesting. I know, weird. But I promise I’ll do my best to make my point.

“Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.” Matthew 9:37-38

WHAT IS HARVESTING TO FARMERS?

A lot of the times, when reading New Testament scripture, you will notice that Jesus likes to make a lot of comparisons and parables based on harvesting and farming. Undoubtedly, he does this because a lot of the people he ministered to were farmers. ​Think of it like a track runner explaining how long of a distance he ran to a football player by saying “I ran the length of five football fields.” 

Jesus uses these farming parables in hopes of helping the multitudes understand God.

Harvest is defined by Merriam-Webster as “the season for gathering in agricultural crops.” A lot of people understand this time to be around autumn when the weather starts to get colder and some crops cannot grow very well. The idea was that the excess crops would be stored up and saved to be used later.

HOW DOES THIS RELATE TO OUR WALK AS CHRISTIANS?

As Christians, one of our main missions is to serve and love others. There are a ton of hurting people in the world today.

​Financial hardships, health problems, and relational issues have caused homelessness and hunger to spread to every corner of the world.

​In the scripture that I quoted at the beginning of today’s post, Jesus has just seen a multitude of people who needed help with one thing or another. This was after Jesus healed the blind men and a man possessed with a devil.
 
Many of the people in this multitude likely knew the people Jesus healed for several years, as communities were even more closer-knit than they are today. After seeing someone suffer from an illness or handicap for that long only to see them healed by Jesus, they must have been a desperate crowd. 

The harvest can be looked at in two different ways. Either the harvest alludes to the people who are in need, which I think it certainly does in this case, or it alludes to lost people getting saved.
 
I think the two can work hand in hand in some ways. 

If you are lost and someone (in this scripture a “labouror”) shows you kindness and helps you, you may put your faith in Christ. If you are already saved, you may become a “labouror.” ​

​I think the point I am being led to drive home is that we should be helping one another. Sure, there are plenty of people who take advantage of those with kind hearts and a Bible tucked away in their purse.
 
Fall is a time where a lot of people find themselves feeling down. 

This time of the year can kick off seasonal depression, the beginning of colder months for the homeless, and difficult times for those who no longer have family to be around.
 
There are a lot of people in need, but very few people willing to help. When we aren’t in a bad situation, we tend to think of an issue as someone else’s problem and we have this attitude that they should just deal with it themselves.

​However, when we land in the same boat, we expect help. So, if you expect help when you are down on your luck, why not give help to those who have no one in their lives who will help them?
 
So, this fall, become a labouror. I am not trying to preach because I myself need to be better about helping others. 

​This was also for my benefit! We are commanded to love one another, and the best way to do that is to help in the harvest. Who knows if you will help someone see or feel God when you do it. Your harvest in times of need could reap enternal benefits. You never know unless you try!