white for harvest

Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest

Evangelism has always been hard for us. For me, (Josh) it is for many reasons. 1, I naturally just don't like talking to strangers. When I am in public, I tend to want to get whatever task I am doing done as quickly as possible. I am not one for small talk or for the awkward comments cashiers tend to make when it is taking longer than usual for your credit card to work. When I hear something like "Oooo, they need to replace this machine because Darla spilled coffee on it", I typically smile, force out a chuckle, and hope to God that the machine works so I can get the heck out of line and be done with that uncomfortable interaction. 2, I would much rather share Jesus with someone I have befriended. Someone I know, that knows me. I tend to feel like giving a gospel presentation to a complete stranger is like a hit-and-run. What happens to them, I think? Does anything actually change in their life? 3, I generally assume that people do not want to hear the best news in the Universe. 4, evangelism is awkward. 5, I am afraid of what people will think of me.

While all of these feelings are valid, they are all excuses. That's right. All 5 reasons I don't like sharing the love of God with people are ultimately selfish excuses that I make, which I end up using to validate and justify my inaction and disobedience to the Holy Spirit. Like we shared in earlier posts, the Lord has been convicting us of how sharing our faith is not optional. Jesus says the fields are white for harvest, and all we must do is look up to see them.

Two weeks ago my wife and I and some of the Off The Wall students partnered with Souled Out International, an evangelistic ministry, and went to Cleveland to share our faith with people on the streets. We ended up spending most of our time in Tower City Mall, engaging with all sorts of people. For all of us from Off The Wall, this was an initially intimidating, but an extremely rewarding experience. We really appreciate the guys from Souled Out, because they do evangelism in a way that is biblical. There are no tracks, no turn or burn signs, and no trying to make converts. I think God can obviously use anything He wants for His good (Romans 8:28), but I just don't see a lot of the methods of evangelism we see in our culture done in Scripture. When Jesus preached the gospel, He did it out of compassion and love for people. He wanted people to be redeemed and their relationship with the Father restored. When Jesus healed, one of the reasons He did is because He had compassion. The Lord used the guys from Souled out to open my eyes to what sharing the love of God is really about. We spent the afternoon in Cleveland praying for people, engaging in dialogue about important life questions, and sharing our testimonies of how Jesus changed our life. There are a few stories I could share, but I will share one interaction I had in particular that has still stuck with me.

I was walking with my wife and one of the OTW students in the Tower City mall by its entrance. My wife and the student were a few paces ahead of me and were asking the Holy Spirit if there was a specific person He wanted them to talk to. I passed a man in the corner leaning against a post. he was a little older than me, had a little extra weight on his frame, and had a red hoodie on. He looked like he had some Latin in him. I noticed his sleeve of tatooes when I got closer. I felt a nudge tell me to "talk to him". So I went over, introduced myself, and asked him if there was anything that I could pray for him. He looked at me, almost perplexed that I had asked him that specific question, and said, "Actually I am having a really bad day. Something happened between my mom and sister and I, and they both packed their things, and left the state". He let me pray for him and as I did, he began to tear up. When I was done, I told him that I didn't think it was a coincidence I felt God nudge me to talk with him. He told me he was catholic, believed in God, and tries to be a good person. I shared with him the assurance of salvation through Christ and encouraged him that God wanted him to know that He loves him very deeply, knows exactly what was going on between his mom and sister, and cares enough to send a stranger (me) to tell him that.

Jesus said 2000 years ago that the fields are white for harvest and all we have to do is lift our eyes to see it. That's all I literally had to do on that Saturday afternoon in Cleveland at tower city mall. I would encourage you to ask the Holy Spirit to interrupt your day. I can't tell you how many times I have felt Him tell me to talk with a stranger and my response was a flat out"no, and I just continued on with my day. It is when we act on His prompting that we may see something miraculous and reap the harvest of what someone else has labored for.

Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”

John 4:35-38







JN