Luke 10:2 says, “He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”
This thought has been on my mind over the last many weeks. We are working through a series in Acts, and as I was preparing for this week’s message, I was brought back to this verse. As I was studying in Acts 2, I got to verse 41 and had a realization. On the day of Pentecost, 3000 people were added to the number of believers that day. Sure, God performed a miracle that was beyond belief that day, but 3000 people repented and were baptized that day as a result of the Spirit’s movement and speaking through Peter.
As I pondered this, I found myself drawn back to the truth in Luke 10:2. I found myself wondering how well I proclaim the message of hope that is found through Jesus Christ in my own life. I found myself wondering how well we do this as the church, and specifically as Hope Community. It was at that point that I realized something even deeper. Do we not bear witness as the apostles and others did that day of Pentecost because we really do not expect God to move like that in 2021? This was a question that was really hard to consider. It is an indictment on followers of Jesus.
What if we were motivated by and believed that God could move like that again? Sure, maybe it won’t be with a violent wind or loud sound or tongues of fire, but what if God moved in a way that thousands came to him in a single day? Do we believe he can do that? Do we really?
I struggled with how to answer that question. Of course, I want to answer a wholehearted yes, but do I really live my life in a way that bears witness to Christ that proclaims that I am a child of God and living a life of holiness? This is a question that I challenge us all to consider in the days ahead as we reimagine what the church might look like as we emerge from this pandemic in the coming months. Do we minister and worship together in ways that show we actually believe we serve a miracle working God? A God that healed the sick, raised the dead, and sent his Son as a babe in a manger just to be the sacrifice for all of us to be restored to God?
I resolve in 2021 to do my best to live like I believe in a miracle working God that promises that the harvest is ready. Let’s pray together for workers and live our lives in ways that bear out witness to the miracle working God that we serve!
~Pastor Todd
Amen.