35 Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

Dear God, this description paints an interesting picture. Jesus, openly performing miracles from town to town is starting to attract a lot of desperate people. I would imagine that people in one town would find him and then follow him to the next so that the crowd became quite large. Such a crowd would require some logistical support. They would need food, places to sleep and bathe, etc. I wonder if city officials would get wary when they heard that Jesus was coming to their town.

I would also imagine that the people Jesus saw in the crowd were not the wealthy or even middle class (if such a thing existed in that area at that time). They would have been the “harassed and helpless”. They would have been the desperate and disenfranchised. They would have been the sick and hurting. They would have been those who were broken and ready to stop. I wonder what kind of harvest Jesus envisioned for them. If there were plenty of “workers” to work the harvest, how would things have been different? Would fewer people have been following Jesus because fewer people would have been desperate?

I guess the question I ask myself is, What kind of worker are you looking for and how can I help? If the harvest is all around me, then how would you have me work it? Is there something I should be doing that I am not? Is there a need I am missing? Should I be more evangelical, generous, service-oriented? What does your harvest need? Those are the questions that roll around in my head.

Father, teach me to be a harvester. I need to understand what that looks like and, if I am not doing it, learn to do it in a way that will enable you to work your will through me. Be glorified in my life, and help me to see your vision for how I should live my life.