The Harvest Fields

Jews and Samaritans were not just hostile neighbors. They were outright enemies. On occasion, Samaritans were known to kidnap Jews traveling through Samaria on their way to Jerusalem, even selling some into slavery.

Jesus saw a harvest field instead of hostilities when looking at Samaritans. He was willing to talk with them, even a Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well. He found people hungry for the Gospel.

When the disciples returned from looking for food, they could not understand why He would talk with such people. But Jesus was not worried about how other people reacted. He focused on doing the will of the Father to reach people who needed salvation.

When the disciples questioned Him, Jesus told them to open their eyes. They needed to let God free them of their prejudices, so they could see the world in a new way. They needed to be filled with compassion instead of judgment.

Today, the fields still are white and ready for harvest. Where are these fields? They are all around us – people we know, circumstances in which we are comfortable, our homes, communities, and place of employment. But these fields also include people from different cultures, people with whom we have had differences, strangers, people we might even consider enemies.

Ask God to let His Spirit help you see the world in a new light. Let Him show you the people you can touch. Those people are your harvest fields.