The Harvest is Plentiful

“The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.”

Matthew 9:37

Jesus often used real life examples to make eternal points.

Society is becoming more and more disconnected with real life.

Which makes it harder for us to see the bigger picture he was trying to paint us.

How can we understand the bigger picture if we don’t understand how harvesting works?

There is a direct correlation between a plentiful harvest and the work it takes to produce it.

Do gardens plant themselves?

Do gardens harvest themselves?

Work is required.

Workers are required.

This is not a new idea.

“The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.”

Genesis 2:15

“Through painful toil you will eat food.”

“By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food.”

Genesis 3:17-19

Work comes before the harvest.

It always has.

This has been a part of life throughout human history.

Not so much anymore.

More and more people are wanting to be blessed by a plentiful harvest without putting in the work necessary to produce it.

This sounds good in theory, but what makes an abundant harvest a possibility?

Workers.

So implementing this idea means collecting the harvest of the workers and dividing it up between all workers and non-workers.

People work for a future harvest.

When the harvest is taken from the one who worked for it and given to someone who didn’t, the worker has to ask, “Why work?”

Why not take it easy and receive the harvest of other workers?

Next thing you know, more and more workers become non-workers.

Who can blame them?

Why work to have your harvest taken from you and redistributed?

Why work if you can receive fruit from the harvest without having to work for it?

Although this may sound good in theory, the reality is this idea distorts reality.

This idea leads to less workers.

This idea leads to unrealistically seeing the harvest as a right rather than a responsibility.

This leads to no one working but everyone expecting a harvest.

That’s not how harvesting works.

Here’s some math:

Less workers = less harvest.

Until eventually there is no harvest at all.

No harvest = starvation.

Divide that up however you like.

Dividing up a small harvest does not magically result in a bigger harvest.

Dividing decreases.

Why divide when multiplying is an option?

The first thing God told Adam in the Garden was to “Be fruitful and multiply.”

Genesis 1:28

God wants to bless us with abundance.

This idea is echoed throughout the Bible.

A plentiful harvest is a possibility.

But work is required.

Work takes workers.

“The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.”