March 4, 2023
Sowing and Reaping
“Already he who reaps is receiving wages and is gathering fruit for life eternal; so that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. For in this case the saying is true, One sows, and another reaps. I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored and you have entered into their labor.” John 4:39- (NASB)
I am not a farmer. I don’t know how to prepare a field, how to sow/ plant, or how to reap/ harvest a crop. I know well enough to leave it to people who are experts in their fields (yes, literally, and figuratively). I get to enjoy the fruits of their labor, and it is hard labor. These men and women are those who keep you and I fed every day. I respect them. I have friends who are farmers. Those I know are some of the most humble people I have ever met. I try to support their efforts as some seasons can be tricky or unfruitful. I know one thing; they have learned a lot from their time in the field. In speaking to a friend, he said he learned from other farmers as well. Most were those laboring in their fields over generations. I also believe a majority of us don’t really know how the farming process works. We just trust it and partake of its fruits. Their work, however, is a lot how God works in calling to salvation. We don’t always know how He does it, but we trust it and partake in it. We trust the expert in His field. It is eternity.
“One sows and another reaps.” As we noted yesterday, “The Samaritans could already be seen approaching and they were the field white for harvest. This is the meaning of Christ’s parable. If it is the spring of the year and Christ can point to the ripened grain, the parable is all the plainer, but it is not dependent on this detail. Recall the parable of the sower in Matt. 13.”[1] This was a visible image that would not easily be forgotten by the disciples, and the Samaritan men were coming not by the disciples’ labor. Jesus wanted them to know, “I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored.” This harvest coming toward them in the field was not something they could take credit. It was God’s sowing and reaping those to salvation, using the woman from the well as His instrument. When the reaping process began, the disciples had the opportunity to witness and take part in the reaping. There is something more in this story that is important to believers. “Already he who reaps is receiving wages and is gathering fruit for life eternal.” Her sowing into the men’s lives in Sychar, was a gathering of fruit that one day in heaven would be recognized. Her actions were from a heart of thanksgiving, not one of trying to obtain merit for her actions. God knows each heart and who are serving for His glory and He will one day reward their actions of sowing and reaping.
As we sow or reap in the Good News of Jesus Christ, remember God chooses the way we operate. We could be a sower or a reaper. Sometimes we may be both. This is determined by God’s sovereignty. I think at times emphasis gets placed on those who lead someone (or the reaping process) to Christ, while neglecting the person who shared the gospel (or sowed) into the person’s life. Remember reaping doesn’t happen without sowing. God orchestrates the entire process. By His Word He commands us to “go make disciples,” so go. Don’t get caught up by who led this or that person to Christ, or who spoke to them first. God is in charge of the whole process. He simply gives us an opportunity to see a field, “to reap that for which you have not labored.” Remember, He did the work on the cross, not us…
[1] A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament (Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1933), Jn 4:35.