John 4:35 Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.
Of a truth, exposure leads to burden and burden leads to action. We often invest in things that we see or know. The absence of familiarity is of itself a rejection to any such adherence. Thus, Jesus did not simply call us to work the harvest. He did not just tell us to reach the lost or spread the Gospel. Jesus said, “Lift your eyes.” Look! See the people. See the lost. The burden exists when we see the people and their lost condition.
As is most cases, we become indifferent until we are introduced to the need. Empathy and compassion are derivatives of the testimony of need. Until we see Eternity, the widening gates of Hell, and the unsaved, we will be content to live within ourselves. However, if we will lift up our eyes and see the need, the lost and our mission, our hearts and actions will follow.
Jesus was emphatic that The Church would be active in this matter. Jesus’ parables in Luke 15 are an open display of recovery, reconciliation, and pursuit of something lost. The lost, prodigal son returns home. The lost sheep is found. A lost coin is searched for and recovered. How can we bypass the heartbeat of Jesus and still call Him Lord? I say that our commission to reach people has never been more pressing. Jesus will return and we will give an account for what we have done and what we have not done.
Jesus offers us no room for self-justification. Jesus said, Mat 5:13-14 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.”
If the “salt” loses its ability, then everything spoils. Christianity becomes nothing more than a secular society when it ceases to be a light in a dark world. The church is nothing more than a social club if it fails to carry the burden of the Master. We must reach the lost with the only saving Gospel. This is the purpose and mission of New Life Fellowship.
Pastor Jeffrey Harpole
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