Read Matthew 9:35-38

“³⁷ Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; ³⁸ therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest.””

Every harvest season in regional Australia there are more fruit and vegetables ready to be picked than there are workers to pick it. While there are plenty of city-dwellers who are unemployed or experiencing financial strain, few venture out to reap the benefits of the annual harvest.

Likewise, there are entire Christian industries dedicated to promoting the ‘ripe’ opportunities to share the message of Jesus with entire people groups who have never heard the good news of his love. Unfortunately, there are many Christians seeking purpose for their lives who never consider the invitation of Jesus to be sent out into this huge ‘harvest’.

There may be many reasons for this disconnect between our desire to make an impact in life and the opportunities that are available to us, but one of them is motivation. Jesus makes it clear that his motivation for the mission he is sending us on is compassion for their “harassed and helpless” state of being (verse 36).

How do we cultivate this kind of compassion which compels us to “go”? It’s by learning to see people like Jesus saw them. It’s by encountering the heart of God for people just like us around the world. While we were once lost, there are billions of people who are still lost. Jesus makes it very clear that this means not only a lack of belonging to God’s family but an eternity without him and the life that he offers.

This is why Jesus offers a heartfelt call to pray that many would join him in his “harvest”, welcoming many sheep into the eternally safe, secure arms of their heavenly father.

However, in his typically proactive approach, after asking his disciples to “pray about it”, it seems he immediately gathered 12 of his closest disciples and sent them out into this harvest directly! It’s hard to know what Jesus would say to people like you and me today, but it’s very clear that while he clearly intended them to pray for “labourers” to go out into the harvest, he had no problem gathering those who were ready and sending them out!

Jesus invites us to pray for and join his harvest. Are there people in the world that you know are “lost”? Pray God will send someone to them. Ask God if he is sending you. No doubt there are people around you right now – neighbours, family, friends, colleagues, teammates – who are lost. Maybe you are the answer to someone else’s prayer for them. Ask God how you might enter into his harvest. Take a bold risk on whatever response you sense from him.