Harvest Time

Thanksgiving is a unique holiday. Historically, it was first celebrated in November 1621 after a successful corn harvest. The Wampanoag natives taught the Plymouth, Massachusetts settlers how to cultivate corn, extract sap from maple trees, and avoid poisonous plants. Although the harvest feast was not called “thanksgiving,” it was an opportunity to celebrate the fruit of their labor. It was Abraham Lincoln who officially declared thanksgiving as a national holiday in 1863.

To a lot of people, Thanksgiving marks the beginning of the holiday season. It is the first of many occasions before the end of the year when families gather around and spend time together. Old traditions are celebrated and new traditions are created. It is also an occasion for many interesting conversations regarding sports, politics, current events, and even religion. Some of these conversations are friendly while others are heated and stressful. For Christians, this is a great opportunity to plant seed and to gather a harvest for the kingdom of God.

The Need for Harvest

Many of us have family members and friends who have not yet put their faith in Jesus and have not yet confessed Him as their Lord and Savior. Some of them may have heard the gospel while others have no idea what the gospel is. As Christians, our desire must be for all of our family members and friends to believe in the truth of the gospel and turn to Jesus in faith and repentance. If we truly understand the gospel, then this desire should be natural and obvious.

The reality is that all mankind is in rebellion to God and His perfect ways because of sin (Rom 3:23). The only way for peace between humans and God is by the righteousness of Jesus Christ because of His finished work (His life, death, resurrection, & ascension) received through faith (Rom 5:1). And those who continue in their rebellion will be cast out of the presence of God for all eternity. If we understand this, then we will also understand that our family members and friends will spend eternity under God’s wrath unless they turn to Him in Jesus through faith. This is exactly what John says in his gospel in John 3:36 – “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” Surely, this is not what we desire for our loved ones!

And if those who know and believe the gospel do not share it with them then it is highly unlikely, if not impossible, for them to hear it. Paul asks rhetorically in Rom 10:14 – “How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?” You and I are called to be that preacher – to plant the seed of the gospel and to reap the harvest of believers – and it is important that we see ourselves as such.

So, how do we become planters and harvesters? Here are five ways that will prepare us for our mission.

Be Prepared

We need to internalize the great commission in Matt 28:19 to “Go and make disciples of all nations.” It is not a suggestion but a command. This does not apply to missionaries only but to all Christians. And it does not mean that the only way to fulfill this command is that we leave our families and neighborhoods and go to other countries. No, not everyone is called to be a missionary, but everyone of us is called to preach the Gospel. And we can do this right where we are – to our family members, friends, co-workers, etc. But it starts with realizing that each one of us is given that call.
Get familiar with the Gospel. The Gospel is not “Jesus loves you.” If you prefer a 3-word sentence, you can use “God saves sinners.” Our Gospel proclamation has to include an explanation of the sinful condition of humans in light of God’s holiness, the finished work of Jesus including His death and resurrection as the only way for redemption, and the call to repentance and faith. You can know the gospel here.
Be always prepared to share the Gospel. This is what Paul meant in Eph 6:15, when he said that our feet should be sandaled with the readiness for the gospel of peace. As we interact with family members and friends, we should imagine ourselves in various situations and play out in our heads how we will share the Gospel in that particular situation. We can anticipate the direction of the conversation and be prepared to bring up the gospel during those conversations. As the saying goes, “our thoughts become our actions.” Let sharing the Gospel be our thoughts so that it will become our actions.
We should be ready to give a defense of our faith (1 Pet 3:15). That is, we need to learn how to provide reasons for why we believe what we believe. This is called Apologetics. Christianity is not a blind faith rather it is the only rational worldview. It is built on historical facts and irrefutable truths. When we start talking to our family members and friends, there will be multiple questions and, in many cases, accusations and arguments to show that Christianity is a myth. As Christians, we should know answers to such arguments not only to refute and educate others but also to be confident in our faith. This could mean that we first seek out answers to the questions we ourselves have. As we grow in the knowledge of the truthfulness of our faith, we will worship Jesus more and proclaim this truth with more conviction. However, we need to provide answers with gentleness in order to win the person and not the argument.
We need to get trained in preaching the Gospel. It is not sufficient to know the gospel and the reasons for our faith but we have to also learn how to share it with others. We can read books written to encourage and provide practical ways to evangelize. We can attend workshops and seminars. And, we can also partner with others who have shared the gospel with others and learn from them. We have to make every effort to be fruitful in this aspect.

Conclusion

As we enjoy this holiday season with our family and friends, let us be mindful of the mission given to us by our Master and Commander – go make disciples. This is the most loving thing we can do for our family members and friends, even more than giving them gifts they have waited for all their lives.

And, let us not do it only during this holiday season but throughout the year. Jesus said that the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few (Matt 9:37). Let us be those laborers in the field and bring in the harvest that God has already prepared for us.

And let’s not procrastinate any longer…

Further Reading