THOUGHTS ON THE LORD’S DAY
“God is saving daylight because the grain is ripe and the harvesters are few.”
Daylight savings time is the practice of setting our clocks forward one hour from standard time during the summer months and back again in the fall in order to make better use of the natural daylight. It was first used in 1908 in Thunder Bay, Canada and is now used by about 40% of countries worldwide.
John 9:4 says, “I (Jesus) must work the works of Him that sent me while it is still day; the night cometh when no man can work.” (KJV)
Longer summer days because of Daylight Savings Time were primarily for the farmer to have more time to gather the harvest. Jesus said in John 4:35, “Do you think the work of harvesting is four months from now, a new season? Look around you! Vast fields are ready now for harvest.”
Daylight has even greater significance for the Church when you consider that the harvest is already wasting in the fields, the marketplace. Statistics tell us that on average, two people die every second somewhere in someone’s field. That means 20,736,000 souls have gone into eternity in the past four months. They have now met the Truth! Hopefully they met Him before they crossed over.
Heaven (eternity) is ready. The “banquet table” is set. All preparations have been made. We only await Jesus’ invitation to come home. Until that invitation is given, we must remain in the fields, commissioned by Christ to gather the harvest during our season of daylight.
Matthew 9:37-38 says that the harvest is ripe, but the active harvesters are few. The harvesters, full-time marketplace ministers, are in the field. However, according to Matthew 20:6, many are standing idle waiting to be hired.
The Body of Jesus Christ spends billions of dollars every year on building and maintaining grain storage facilities, harvesting training programs, preaching sermons challenging the reapers, and weekend rallies promoting the need to gather the harvest.
Yet a 2017 Pew Research study revealed that Islam is the world’s fastest growing religion in terms of percentage and worldwide spread. Christianity is barely keeping even with the population growth.
These statistics can be overwhelming and discouraging. Or, they can be the motivation for the Church at large, every local congregation and individual believer, to make a fresh commitment to take the energy of the harvesters meeting on Sunday to the fields the rest of the week.
Jesus said, “I must work the works of him that sent me.” Jesus was not some casual “when I can fit it in” kind of messenger. He was sent by the Father on purpose, for a purpose, He was accountable to his Father for the performance of His assignment. Will we be no less accountable for what we do during our daylight hours? Don’t let the night come to your life and you be found idle in the fields.
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be unto you: as the Father has sent me, I also send you” John 20:21. (CSB)
What are you doing with the hours of daylight God is saving for you?