Challenging word from my friend, Warren Samuels.

For many years, my wife and I have lived across the street from a farm where wheat is the primary crop grown. Over those years, I’ve watched this farmer harvest his crop, which was always the same amber color. You can imagine my confusion, then, when I read John 4:35 where Jesus commanded his followers to “…lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest” (ESV). So I ran over to the farmer and said to him, “I’ve noticed that the wheat you cut is always an amber color. But Jesus told his followers to look at a wheat field that is white. Do you think Jesus was color blind?”

The farmer said something I’ll never forget, “No, Jesus wasn’t color blind. He was painting a picture of urgency. When the wheat turns white, it’s almost too late to harvest it.”

That rocked my world, and it reinforced the urgency of our work in places like Romania, where works-based religion has imprisoned so many men and women, and in Seattle, a city where so many have become hardened to the gospel.

How do you sense this urgency? Are you praying for the harvest fields around you? Are you working as a harvester, sharing the Gospel and seeing those around you respond?

 

-sb

 

Warren Samuels is the President of NEXT Worldwide – a global missions and leadership development organization. NEXT mobilizes 400-600 students and adults each year on campaigns around the world. Their mission is to share the Gospel by planting churches and growing next-generation leaders.

21 Feb This entry was published on February 21, 2012 at 10:59 am and is filed under Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post.