Being With Jesus:
John 4:34-38
Jesus said to them, “My food is doing the will of him who sent me and finishing the work he has given me. Don’t you say, ‘Four months more and then comes the harvest’? But I tell you to open your eyes and look to the field—they are gleaming white, all ready for the harvest! The reaper is already being rewarded and getting in a harvest for eternal life, so that both sower and reaper may be glad together. For in this harvest the old saying comes true, ‘One man sows and another reaps.’ I have sent you to reap a harvest for which you never labored; other men have worked hard and you have reaped the results of their labors.”
Today’s AP headline screams “World stock markets plunged and Wall Street was due to suffer heavy losses on Monday after China’s main index sank 8.5 percent amid fears over the health of the world’s second-largest economy.” Obviously, your money is not as safe as you’d like it to be. But Jesus spoke of an investment you can make that will yield never-ending, ever-increasing returns. He promised that those who give financially to missions will get in on an eternal harvest that is unprecedented in history. If there was ever a time, it’s now to repurpose your life, especially your finances for greater missional engagement. Jesus says to you, “open your eyes and look to the field—they are gleaming white, all ready for the harvest! The reaper is already being rewarded and getting in a harvest for eternal life.” (John 4:35-36)
Yes, now is the time! It’s true, there has never been a greater opportunity for return on your missions investment than right now—your investment of praying for missions, giving to missions, encouraging missionaries, going on a mission and in a way that encompasses everything about you, living a missions driven life. And by “missions”, I mean anything that has to do with proclaiming Christ in places with no sustainable Christian witness to those who haven’t received the Good News yet and influencing them into God’s eternal kingdom.
That’s what Jesus is prophetically saying in John 4:34-38. In verse 35, he pleads with his disciples: “Open your eyes; see the fields! Now is the time—they’re ripe for harvest.” And notice how he frames his missions appeal in terms of return on investment in verse 36: “The reaper will get rewarded now, plus bring in a harvest that’s eternal.” (JBP)
As we sit at the end of the age, the evidence shouts that this is a “kairos” moment. “Kairos” is the Greek word used in the New Testament for a God-opportunity; “chronos”, on the other hand, is the word used for actual time, that is, chronological time. This is that kairos time of which Jesus spoke where those who pray for, go on and give to missions will get in on an eternal harvest that is unprecedented in history.
If there was ever a time, it’s now to repurpose your life for greater missional engagement. If you’ve not, get all in, make the change to go all out for missions. If you already are engaged in missions, recalibrate for more. Now is the time! Don’t miss out!
As you correctly absorb John 4, there are three unavoidable convictions you will lay claim to in relation to the huge and ripened harvest that is our present world:
First, you will become convinced that doing missions is your divine mandate. In verse 34, Jesus directly connected reaching this foreign seeker (the Samaritan woman at the well of Sychar) with both the will and the work of God: “What keeps me going is to do the will of the One who sent me, finishing the work he started.” (MSG)
I realize that what I’m talking about—dedicating your time, energy and money…or more of it—may not be too comfortable for you. Unless you are convinced of what Jesus was convinced of—that this is the will and work of God—any call to commit your resources of time and energy will seem pushy about this. But sincerely pray about it. Don’t do or not do it because a pastor or missionary is pressuring you. Open your heart to God, and simply ask, “God, help me to see the harvest—and what you would have me to do about it!”
Secondly, you will become convinced that doing missions brings the deepest satisfaction. In verse 32, Jesus said, “this is my nourishment!” It has been my experience that missional investment and involvement satisfies a core desire like no other. In an age that deeply longs for satisfaction but can never seem to really find it, I can promise you this: what deeply satisfied Jesus’ soul will be that which can only and fully satisfy your soul!
Thirdly, you will become convinced that the missional sacrifice of others demands your best sacrifice. Notice verse 38: “I’m sending you to reap what you’ve not worked for. Others have done the hard work, now you’ll reap the benefits of their labor.” The investment of those who’ve gone before us demands that we do no less.
Think of the comfort missionaries have given up over the centuries to take Jesus to unreached people. It is the story of sacrifice! They died—often literally—to our version of the good life to bring the Good News so others can live.
James Calvert, in the 1800’s, shipped off to go as a missionary to the cannibals on the Fiji Islands. As they neared the islands, the captain tried to dissuade him back.“You’ll lose your life and the lives of those with you if you go among these savages.” To that, Calvert replied, “Captain, we died before we came here.”
To Calvert—and other missionaries, I think they would all say, it was no sacrifice; it was our nourishment; it was our calling. We would do it all over again.
When you consider missionaries, starting with Jesus clear down to those serving in far away and difficult places in the world today, their sacrifice is best honored by your sacrifice! Mine, too! Missions is your calling! It’s your privilege. It will be your nourishment! And in eternity, it will prove to be the best investment you ever made.
________________
“The spirit of Christ is the spirit of missions. The nearer we get to Him, the more intensely missionary we become.” (Henry Martyn)