Jesus sent his twelve harvest hands out with this charge:
“Don’t begin by traveling to some far-off place to convert unbelievers. And don’t try to be dramatic by tackling some public enemy. Go to the lost, confused people right here in the neighborhood. Tell them that the kingdom is here. Bring health to the sick. Raise the dead. Touch the untouchables. Kick out the demons. You have been treated generously, so live generously.
“Don’t think you have to put on a fund-raising campaign before you start. You don’t need a lot of equipment. You are the equipment, and all you need to keep that going is three meals a day. Travel light.
Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved.
My grandmother has “traveled light” all of her life. She never had much extra money in her pocket… she and my grandfather eked out a living on their meager farm by working “day jobs” – often more than one – in town. But when I was a little girl, I thought they were rich land barons! This was due in large part to their incredible charity and service to others. To say that my grandmother has lived generously would be an understatement.
My grandmother probably missed more than a meal or two in her lifetime, and she often had to purchase things “on credit”… but she never missed a payment. She was incredibly responsible in all things. She used her always-gloved “harvest hands” to reach those in her neighborhood. She ministered to the sick, lifted the sagging and dying spirits of those who were losing heart, and reached out to those many would consider “untouchable.” One of her first questions when she met new people was, “Where do y’all go to church?” This was often followed by “Would you like to come for dinner/supper?” or “Would you like a mess of turnip greens… some purple hull peas?”… or whatever extra produce she had grown in her garden.
I will be the first to tell you that my grandmother is something of a “character.” But she has also been a tremendous role model for the “harvest hands” of Jesus. She never left the country, but the effects of her missions and ministries were far-reaching. There are now days when she asks, “Why am I still here?” and I always tell her, “Because God is not done with you yet!”
I pray that I can be as effective as my grandmother in using my “harvest hands.” If each of us made a conscious effort to “travel light” and concentrate on doing the work of Jesus, we might find the road ahead of us a little easier, in many ways. When we shift the focus from ourselves and our own needs to those of Jesus and reaching out to others in His name, a lot of what we thought was important suddenly seems incredibly insignificant.
Where is your focus these days? Are you more concerned with what is in it for you and dramatically bursting on the scene to save the world for Jesus? Or are you humbly and generously meeting the needs of the lost, lonely, and needy in your own midst… and offering them a loving smile, a healing touch - or even food for their stomach or their soul? You don’t have to live 100 years to leave a legacy of “harvest hands” for Jesus. What is important is that you make the most of every year God gives you. How are you doing these days?
©2012 Debbie Robus
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