Jump Start # 1384

John 4:35 “Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest.”

  Our passage today shows the great difference that is often found in how we see things and how the Lord sees things. In the context, the disciples asked Jesus to eat. He replied that that He had food that they did not know about. He went on to reveal that His food was to do the will of Him who sent Him. Jesus was determined to accomplish the work that He was sent to do. That work was to seek and save the lost. Our verse follows, lift up your eyes and look. It’s harvest time.

Borrowing from the principles of farming, which Jesus often did, such as in the parable of the sower, now He deals with the harvest. The harvest is what farming is all about. Some like being outdoors. Some may like the feel of dirt on their hands. But in the end, farming is not about pulling weeds, planting seeds, cleaning your equipment, it’s about the harvest. Without a harvest, farmers go broke. The harvest makes it or breaks it for farmers. The harvest is very important to farmers.

In this setting, harvest was still four months out. The seed has been planted. The crop is growing. Now it’s waiting. James talks about the farmer who waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it. Four months until harvest. I’m a city guy, always have been. I suppose during those four months the farmer is fixing his machinery, mowing fields, pulling weeds, and getting things ready for when the harvest comes. Basically, he’s waiting. Planting season and harvest seasons are the busy times. The in between times are not as hectic. Farmers in Jesus’ day really had some down time. They didn’t have the massive machinery our modern farmers must maintain. Back then they generally stuck with one or two crops and the science of crop rotation wasn’t known. So, the in between time was a waiting time.

Jesus, using the coming harvest as His lesson, told the disciples to open their eyes. Look upon the fields. They are ready for harvest. They are ready now. This was most unusual in farming terms. The harvest wouldn’t be ready that soon. Jesus was finished talking about farming. He was now talking about spiritual matters. He was talking about His work. The harvest was ready now. People were ready to hear the Gospel. Lives were ready to be changed. Now was the time. Jesus didn’t come to earth to have some down time. A quick read of the Gospels and one will find very little “off time” for Jesus. He was on the move. He was teaching. He was with people. He was always about His Father’s business. His time was short, but His purpose very clear. Upon the cross He could declare, “It is finished.” The “it” wasn’t Him, but the work that He came to do. He finished it. He completed it. He didn’t leave anything undone.

Lift up your eyes and see. Now is the time to be busy. Now is the time to get about things. Here lies the great contrast between what Jesus saw and what we see. We see four more months. We see a down time. We see no hurry now. That’s not what Jesus saw.

That contrast, between what Jesus saw and what others saw, is found throughout the gospels. Remember, the bent over woman in the synagogue? Sure everyone noticed her, but Jesus saw her. He healed her that day. The blind man that they passed one day, brought a question from the disciples about who caused his blindness. They were curious about the spiritual origin of his disease. Not one of them thought to ask Jesus to help Him. Jesus cured the man. Little Zacchaeus up in the tree. Jesus saw him and invited Himself to his house. Jesus saw something in a tax collector named Matthew. He chose him to be one of the apostles. Jesus saw things in people that most didn’t. We tend to see issues, layers, complicated problems, where as, Jesus sees a soul. A troubled soul. A lost soul. A hurting soul. Lift up your eyes and see.

There comes another thought from the ‘lifting up your eyes,’ principle. There are those who can see how things could be. They see what it would be like if the principles of the Scriptures were applied. They see what could happen if everyone chipped in and did their part. They see a leadership that is compassionate, involved and helping each member one on one. They see a church that is united and caring. They see the little ones being helped by the big ones. They see what patience and growth would do to a congregation. They see future elders in young men. They see a preacher in a young man. They see a group that loves, forgives and accepts. They see people connected and sharing. Through the principles of the Bible, they see that. The few that see that often get discouraged when others don’t. They haven’t lifted up their eyes. They don’t see that the fields are white for harvest. Not yet. Not now. Some can see what could be and most don’t. Most are content to live day to day. Change comes slowly. Change sometimes is fought. Visionaries have existed behind every invention and every political cause. It is what fuels movements to change. Some can see what could be. Potential is there. But too often, realty is nothing more than sitting on the couch playing video games. Those that see get discouraged with those that do not see. Those that see want change and they want it quickly. Those that do not see, do not see the need for change. They are content to keep things the way they are.

In the Vietnam war era, John Lennon sang a song, “Imagine.” Imagine everyone getting along. Imagine no differences. Imagine no wars. He saw things that most never would. Lennon’s Imagine was a world without God and in such a world there is no basis for peace and getting along. It’s every man for himself. It’s get what you can get. But I do understand the visionary concept. I am that way. I told someone recently that I do not know if I will ever see a congregation live up to the potential that I can envision. That can be discouraging. It’s like a parent or a school teacher who has a very gifted child, but the child doesn’t want to live up to his potential. He’s content to float. He’s content to do as little as possible. Challenges don’t move him. Special studies, classes and opportunities don’t excite him. Sitting around listening to music and playing with his phone seems to be his greatest ambition. Oh, to have his talent. Oh, to have his opportunities. Lift up your eyes.

Could that thought be said of each of us? Have we settled into things that are easy, safe and not too challenging? When we teach a class, is it a subject that we have taught over and over, so we can do it with very little effort? Do we find ourselves preaching things that we are comfortable preaching? Do we find ourselves singing the same songs, doing the same things, over and over, because we can? Have we given up on lifting up our eyes because that may lead to change, challenges and involve a lot of time and work that we simply do not feel like devoting?

What could our congregations be like? What could we be like? What could I be like? Have we taken those spiritual principles that we have learned over and over and plugged them into our hearts to see what we could become? Have we reached our peak?

I heard a story about an Amish guy who bought a Ferrari. He was not able to drive it because of the Amish ways. He sat in the bright red car as it was pulled by two mules. He was not using the sports car to it’s potential. Makes a person think, doesn’t it? Have we really lifted up our eyes in a while? What would we see? What could be done? What potential might we reach?

Lift up your eyes… give it a try today. What do you see? How do you see your congregation? How do you see your family? How do you see yourself? Don’t say there are four months, lift those eyes up.

Roger