The Harvest

Then He said to them, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.  Luke 10:2

Between Jennings and Hathaway on Louisiana Highway 26 south, our little church lies off the road on the western side in the "S" curve.  A highway sign simply stating "CHURCH" alerts people that there is a church.  I've often wondered why.  Perhaps to turn alert you to turn down your music?  Or to slow down for people turning off or on the road?  I'm not sure.  The other day when I passed by the rice harvest was in full operation in the field bordering the road.

This field on the eastern side of the road across from the church rotates in production each year between rice and crawfish.  This is the field where, I'm convinced, the minks that killed 39 of our laying hens lived as I saw the carcasses of one or two that met their demise trying to cross the road to come have a chicken dinner at our place.  As I looked out of the window, two big John Deere combines, a cart and a grain truck were getting the work done.  Wide swaths of rice were being harvested. They were rolling! To bring the harvest in, the farmers work late into the night, with bright LED lights assisting.

The rice crop will be trucked to the rice drier, dried to the appropriate moisture level and then shipped off to the mills where it'll be put on ships or trains to be transported to the ultimate buyer for processing or consumption.  It's a busy time in Louisiana as farmers try to get the crop in prior to winds that accompany storms and knock the rice down flat on the ground making the harvest more difficult.

Even when the crop is harvested, there are still question marks.  What is the price going to be?  The price is dependent upon a number of factors.  The weather, competitor's yields all over the world, and  quality of the sample, to name a few.  You take a sample of your rice to have it graded.  They check for chaff, milling, how many brokens, and weed seed are in the sample.  There are many variables - some which are in the farmer's control and some that aren't.

The large equipment used these days make the job easier, but the capital investment involved in farming is so high, it is driving out many small farmers who cannot get financed.  It's a tough business.  It's rewarding, but it's not easy.  A lot of prime farmland is being sold to developers who are building subdivisions for people drawn to "country life."  A large subdivision next to me is named "Heritage Fields."  It's truly sad to see.

To farm, you must have dependable labor.  I was talking to a friend of my son's tonight.  Right in the middle of his harvest this year, his dad lost all his labor.  Can you imagine getting your field planted, you've taken care of the crop, irrigating it, eradicating pests and weed pressure, the crop is ripening in the field and you have no one to help you harvest?  What stress!  In the old days, neighboring farmers would help as they finished up, and I'm sure this still occurs in places, but you have to have help to get the crop in.

And that reminded me of Jesus' talking in the Gospel of Luke, likening the multitudes of people to a field ready for harvest.  If there are no laborers, the harvest would not come in.  In agricultural terms, if there is no one to harvest the crop, the rice will over-ripen and "shatter" and fall off the head.  Your crop will be lost.  Disastrous!

But from a spiritual standpoint, it's even worse!  You see, there are souls out there that desperately need to know the Good News of Christ.  If there are no laborers, the harvest of souls will be lost.  The Lord asks us to pray that laborers will be sent out.  Laborers must be sent out to bring in the harvest.  Those laborers include great preachers like Adrien Rogers, for example, but also include people like you and me.  Time is short.  Trust Jesus today!  If you are a believer, use every opportunity given to be used as a laborer in the Lord's harvest.