We are called to be the hearts and hands behind the harvest, for “the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few” (Matthew 9:37). Today, we take a closer look at what it looks like to work in the field and how we are grafted in to the tree of life.
Website: TheMoreYoureLookingFor.com
The Hearts Behind The Harvest
Today’s devotional comes to you by Nature Sweet cherry tomatoes 
(God will use anything to talk to us, right? lol)
I love tomatoes, and I like to snack on cherry and grape tomatoes. I’ve noticed the photos on the underside of the lid before but never really paid too much attention to it, to be honest, aside from noting how it’s nice that such a big company recognizes their workers out in the field whereas we, as consumers, don’t think twice about where our food comes from.
But today, the words “The hearts behind the harvest” stood out to me. Those workers we take for granted are the people who work in the field, sowing seeds, tending the garden (ensuring the crop receives enough water and sunlight to grow), and harvesting the crop so that we might enjoy it.
You and I are the hands behind the harvest in the kingdom of God. Each of us is called to sow seeds and tend the garden and harvest the crop, but even so, each of us has also been assigned a specific role in the Garden: some have a heart for evangelism, to plant seeds and start up conversations wherever you go to reach those who don’t yet know the Good News.
For others, it’s tending the garden. If water (Holy Spirit) and sunlight (Jesus) are needed to grow, and “the Lord, who is in charge of the harvest (Matt. 9:38)” has placed the seed in good soil, then it’s the job of the caretaker to ensure that little seedling gets fed and is tended to so that it may grow deep roots and produce good fruit. This is the primary role of the preacher, the teacher, and the exhorter, among others.
Finally, the fruit is ripe, and the Lord sees that it is good. That’s the result of doing the task appointed to you, not saying, “I’m not good enough; someone else can do it better.” Or looking at a situation that God has called you to that might not look too appealing, so you shrug off that nudge and think, “Someone else will come along.” He has specifically chosen YOU for this task, and no one can do it better than how the Lord has specifically equipped you for this task at this appointed time. It’s time to harvest, and “the harvest is plenty, but the workers are few” (Matt. 9:37). We are the workers, and I don’t want to be found sleeping on the job when the Lord returns.
In John 4:35-38, Jesus says, “You know the saying, ‘Four months between planting and harvest.’ But I say, wake up and look around. The fields are already ripe for harvest. The harvesters are paid good wages, and the fruit they harvest is people brought to eternal life. What joy awaits both the planter and the harvester alike! You know the saying, ‘One plants and another harvests.’ And it’s true. I sent you to harvest where you didn’t plant; others had already done the work, and now you will get to gather the harvest.”
Harvesting isn’t the end. It’s the beginning of a new cycle of spreading new seed (seed that has now multiplied as a result of the growth and production of that single seed) and tending the garden so that all those single seeds will grow and produce more good fruit to produce more good seed…
As I’m contemplating all of this, eating those sweet cherry tomatoes, I scanned the QR code and looked up the profile on Maria Olivia Carranza Robles. The first sentence grabbed me again: “For 22 years, Maria Olivia Carranza Robles has dedicated her hands and heart to grafting, a craft she says truly inspires her.”
It reminded me of Romans 11:11-24 (NIV). We, the Gentiles, have been grafted into the tree of life (because of our faith and trust in God) where the native branches of Israel have been cut off due to their unbelief and lack of trust. How grateful and humbled we should be that God has allowed us to be grafted in, yet we should also desire with all our heart for the original branches to be grafted back in. “After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!” (Rom. 11:24 NIV)
Let us, too, dedicate our hands and hearts to the harvest, all the while asking the Lord to graft in more and more, and hold each other accountable lest we be broken off and cast into the fire. For Jesus says, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” (John 15:1-8)
Go, bear good fruit, remain in the vine, and be the heart and the hands behind the harvest.