John chapter 4: verses 34-38 (NIV)
“My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labour.”
John Chapter 13 verse 35 (NIV)
“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
I have just finished updating the briefing note for the next meeting of the Dalkeith Prayer Partnership this week. It covers the Gorebridge, Newtongrange and Newbattle areas. Every month the meeting will pray for a different area in Midlothian and we will be given an updated note on the things to pray and give thanks for. This sometimes includes a note of the work being done by different churches in the area. Whilst we may not always be directly involved with their work, does that mean we cannot support it in prayer, or rejoice at their harvest? Of course not! Jesus told His disciples that the sower and the reaper should be glad together. If we do that then we will surely also be living out what Jesus said that His followers should be like.
Dear Lord,
Help me to be supportive to those who sow and reap, and in my turn to sow and reap as You direct and not be concerned if someone seems to have yielded a better crop. The most important thing to do is to sow and reap as You direct and not to make comparisons with others. Help me to remember that. I ask in Jesus’ Name. Amen.