by Christina Faucett, Program Administrator, Sidewalk Advocates for Life
Verse(s): “After this, the Lord appointed 72 others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. And he said to them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore, pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.'”
– Luke 10:1-2
Reflection: It seems odd to think that God needs us for anything. He is God, after all. He can do all things. He made us, and to Him, we are like the dust of the earth or the clay in His hands. Without Him we could not live. And yet, that is what he says to us over and over again: “I need you. I need you to come forward, choose me, step out in faith.” God can do great things in us and through us, but He wants us to participate. As Paul says in Ephesians, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
Jesus points to that reality here: A harvest is waiting to be reaped – but where are the workers? Without workers in a farmer’s field, the grapes rot on the vine, the grain molds in the field. And without workers in the spiritual field souls perish in the darkness. God has planted many seeds in the hearts of those all around us: Will we reap what He has sown? Or will we remain blind to the harvest all around us, focusing only on our own measly patch of dirt?
Faith Challenge: Will you do the good works God has created you to do? Will you do it even if the work means standing in the rain tirelessly, day after day, fingers numb, and legs sore? If you are willing to take on this tedious work, Jesus has a promise for you – with His help, you will reap the rewards! The reward is the Bread of Life.