Harvesting an Invisible Crop
Rev. Reid
A church had a man in the choir who couldn’t sing. Several people hinted to him that he could serve in other places, but he continued to come to the choir. The choir director became desperate and went to the pastor. ”You’ve got to get that man out of the choir,” he said. “If you don’t, I’m going to resign. The choir members are going to quit too. Please do something.” So the pastor went to the man and suggested, “Perhaps you should leave the choir.” ”Why should I get out of the choir?” he asked. ”Well, five or six people have told me you can’t sing.” That’s nothing,” the man snorted. “Fifty people have told me that you can’t preach!”
That seems funny but many of us don’t do much in our church, home or in the community to move forward the mission of Christ. It is a crop waiting to be harvested. We harvest this invisible crop by seeing God in all things and responding to His call. But there is a problem. Many of us fail to harvest the bounty of God’s love because we are too invested in what we are doing and not what God calls us to do. Let me share two ways of finding the hidden crop that God is: First, by seeing God in everything. Jesus said, “The harvest is plentiful.” What is He talking about? Jesus speaks the language of the farmers, fishers, and laborers. The harvest is truly great, but there are not enough laborers. The treasure is vast, but there are not enough sharers. A tremendous energy is released, but nobody is open to receive it. The flower has opened but nobody passes by to be filled by its scent. The fragrance is wasted. It could have been used and people would have attained to their highest peak. But the fragrance goes on spreading into the emptiness of the sky. It spreads to everything.
God is found in all of creation, especially nature. God is found in the flowers. Not that He is invisible – He is visible, but visible as flowers, trees, leaves, and grass, the blue or cloudy sky. Naturally God can be found in us when we seek Him with all our hearts. If you have an idea of God, you will never find Him. The very idea will become the barrier. It is only those who have no idea of God that come upon Him, or allow God to come upon them. If you have a certain idea, the very idea is going to be the wall, the brick wall, between you and the truth. God is the invisible crop that is available for gathering anytime of the year. God is here – now. All you see is God. God can be found beyond and within. God is intrinsic; God is the innermost core of our existence.
Second, we can harvest the invisible crop that the Lord is by responding to His call. God calls us not just to join a church but to affirm our faith. He calls us to make a commitment to Him daily. Jesus says, “But the Laborers are few.” Who are the laborers? We are the laborers. If we don’t respond to God’s call who will? The crop is ready to be cut, and if it is not cut in time it will be wasted. There is a time to sow and there is a time to reap. Jesus is ready, the crop is ready – there is nobody to share it. We do everything at the top of our list but the Lord’s work! Why does this happen? Why do we want to remain unhappy when the door is open to be happy, but we don’t look? We seem to have investments in unhappiness. Harvesting God’s invisible crop relieves all pain, suffering and despair and brings joy, peace and everlasting contentment. We can become willing laborers if we are ready to harvest the crop that is the Lord. When we do, we are ready to go into the fields of life and reap from the work done by God through His Son Jesus. We know our work is needed and valuable! All around us we see God. He calls us! Let’s respond to his call and share His message with everyone we meet. This is the harvest! This is our blessing to have and to share.
