We had certain chores assigned to us when I was a kid. I had a few different jobs, and I didn’t mind most of them, but one I hated had to do with harvesting. I hated picking blackberries.
Where I grew up, the blackberry brambles grew thick and tall every summer. Their thorns were sturdy, vicious, and sharp. Their tangles seemed to have a mind of their own, with malicious intent. They didn’t want me wading in to harvest their fruit any more than I did, and they made their displeasure known.
When my mom would send me out to harvest I moaned and groaned. I didn’t even like blackberries. (I still don’t. Too many seeds.) But I would put on long pants and a shirt with long thick sleeves, despite the humid summer heat. I’d grab a bucket and get to it. At first I’d try just to pick the berries on the fringes, but the fattest, juiciest ones always seemed to be deep in the middle of the briars. I’d reach and strain and inevitably tumble right into the thickest jumble of thorns. I swear those vines were trying to trip me.
Every time, no matter what protection I wore, I’d trudge home sweaty, dirty, and bleeding from a thousand little scratches and punctures. But I was always proud and satisfied with my full bucket of juicy berries.
My mom would turn the berries into pie or cobbler or crumble. If I liked blackberries, that would’ve been a great reward. Instead my reward was seeing how happy it made my dad. And the rest of the family, for that matter. Blackberry harvest became a joyous day in our family because of the dessert born of my labor.
This is what I think of when I think of harvest. It’s not easy. It can be painful, frustrating, and even dangerous. But it can also be rewarding when I buckle down and just start picking.
The kind of harvest Jesus is talking about in today’s verse is bringing people to God. Like berries in a bucket. God will be overjoyed if I bring even one person to Him so that He can heal them and they can know His love.
Harvesting people is a lot more complicated than picking berries. I don’t really even know how to begin. But I guess that’s why Jesus said to pray about the situation. He didn’t say “go out and start harvesting.” He said to pray to God about how to deal with this abundant harvest.
Dear God,
I believe Jesus who said there are many souls hanging out in the world ready to be harvested the way I harvested ripe blackberries. I know you want them to know you and be healed. I don’t have a clue about how to participate in that kind of harvest. Please send out more workers. And show me what to do if you want me to be one of those workers.
CamDevo 