I was doing some sermon prep on my day off and came across this verse in the Gospel of John.

“Do you not say, ‘Four months more and then the harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.”  John 4:35

Jesus had just started sharing the truth that he was to bring to the world and has performed only a few miracles.  However, we find him in this conversation with the Disciple’s where they are telling him to eat.  Jesus has to confuse them with the response he gives.  Basically, he says, “I have food that you know nothing about.”  To that the Disciple’s had to start looking around to see if there were any wrappers left on the ground or bones from food that someone else may have brought Him.  To find nothing and to hear Jesus go on and talk about reaching and communicating the message to those who were lost had to confuse the disciple’s.

For us though, we know the story and understand where Jesus was at and what had just happened.  Inside of knowing what has happened and understanding the whole story I think we have this lesson to learn.  The time is now.

The time is now.  Jesus said the fields were ripe for harvest, people were ready to accept the message that he was bringing.  I think that Jesus may have been saying, “Yes, go ahead and eat i simply have something more important on my mind that I need to focus on right now.”  How often are we that focused on the task at hand, reaching lost, that we forgo the basic needs and let God lead us?  I am not sure that I can say I have done that very often.

There is one other side to this whole conversation that I want to touch on.  Jesus said the fields were ready for harvest and as we look at the statistics that are coming from Barna and other research groups, the time is now.  We are at a place where the focus need to be harnessed and we need to step up to the plate and let God lead us to those who need the Gospel message.  Our programs are great and provide a real catalyst for more conversations to happen, if we take advantage of them. If we have not gotten so wrapped up in what we are doing that we can’t follow the lead of God.  The time is now!

Just my thoughts!