Here in America we celebrate a very special holiday known as Thanksgiving. It was created by the Pilgrims and our forefathers, as they wanted to give thanks to God for a bountiful harvest and much more. Traditionally, it is the fourth Thursday of November each year. We usually celebrate it with family and friends. Many will actually serve others in places like homeless shelters and nursing homes.
We see in scripture where Jesus was traveling throughout Galilee teaching the good news of the kingdom of God and preparing his disciples to carry on his ministry. He sees the spiritual needs are great, and he asked his disciples to pray for more workers to evangelize the world. ‘Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore, pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest”’ (Mt. 9.37,38). The harvest is a familiar biblical metaphor related to the kingdom of God. Jesus sees the lost and hurting people as we also see around us like ripe fruit ready to be plucked and gathered into God’s kingdom. As a side note, John Roper and a team just returned from an undisclosed Caribbean island country where 449 people trusted Christ. Bountiful harvest!
God is the Lord of the harvest which means he is the one who controls the times and seasons of the harvest. It’s God’s work, not man’s; salvation, acceptance into God’s kingdom, is a gift of God through the grace he pours out on us. God chooses us, regenerates us and gives us the faith to believe in Jesus Christ and seals us with the promised Holy Spirit. The success of the harvest depends on him, not on human might or wisdom, but by his Spirit working in people’s hearts to complete the harvest.
So, let’s enjoy our blessed celebration, leaving the table committed to being a laborer in God’s harvest, wherever he leads you. A great theologian once said, “Go, send, or repent!” AMEN! Happy Thanksgiving!