Labor Day

Luke 10:2, "Then He(Jesus) said to them, 'The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.'"

Labor Day in America is a day when we salute the working man and woman. It's a holiday from work for the one who works hard for a living. It's the opening of college football season, the last unofficial weekend of the summer, a much needed and appreciated day off. But in the work of the Lord, is their a break?

For many Christians the work of the Lord is simply passed over because of our work in the world, or simple neglect. In Luke 10:2, Jesus tells us that the harvest, the reaping of souls for the kingdom of God, is truly great. However, their is a problem. God's kingdom does now have enough workers to bring in all that could be harvested.

Bill Bright, the late founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, after years of study revealed some alarming figures. In his research, Bright found that only 2% of Christians are actively involved in sharing their faith. Only 2 in 100 Christians are burdened with the lost to the point they will tell people of Jesus as a regular part of their life. The harvest is indeed "great," but the "laborers are few."

It's been said many times regarding witnessing, we are God's chosen instrument to fulfil this work. Their is no plan B. We are the one's commanded by God to "go" and "make disciples." Sadly, few of us are actually going. And thus few disciples are being made. The harvest sits in the field awaiting to be brought to the storehouse. Souls who need to hear the gospel of Christ, are decaying in the field that is the world. And many simply seem not to care.

Their will come a day when this time of harvest is over. One of the more haunting verses in the bible to me is Jeremiah 8:20. Here the Lord tells us, "The harvest is past, the summer is ended. And we are not saved." This verse seems to communicate the cry of those who are left after the harvest, who because of the lack of workers, were never brought in from the field.

So what is the answer for this? Well, we speak of this problem alot. In my denomination, the Southern Baptist Convention, we have a new denominational focus upon reaching the lost called the "Great Commission Resurgence." We as a denomination have decided upon many structural changes and spending more money in areas that are less permeated by the gospel. But should not the first step be to follow Jesus's instructions in Luke 10:2?

The first thing that is needed for the harvest to be great, are the workers to bring it in. Jesus tells us we are to ask the "Lord of the harvest," the Father Himself, to provide workers. We can talk about evangelism and discipleship all we want, but until we earnestly lift up this request to God in prayer, will we ever have the workers needed to truly reach the whole world?

Over the last few weeks I've heard many of my peers stating something I've been saying for months now. That we will never have a "Great Commission Resurgence" until we first have a "Greatest Commandment" resurgence. Until we love God first, and are able to love "others" as ourselves, we will never have the burden for the lost we should have.

In Luke 19:10 Jesus explains His mission here on earth. He says that "The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." We must come to the realization that Jesus no longer walks this earth, and that we are the body of Christ. This is our mission. Will we embrace it out of our love for God and each other, or continue to see the harvest rot in the field? A lost world is waiting for our decision.