“[Jesus said] ‘For here the saying holds true, “One sows and another reaps.” I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.’ Many Samaritans from that town believed in Him because of the woman’s testimony, ‘He told me all that I ever did.’ So when the Samaritans came to Him, they asked Him to stay with them, and He stayed there two days. And many more believed because of His Word.” John 4:37-41
Devotional Thought For The Day
The Samaritan woman testified to Jesus and brought many of her friends to Jesus, but it was His Word that ultimately brought them to believe in Him, that He is the “Savior of the world.” [Jn. 4:42] This is the ordinary way that Christians are born so that God’s kingdom grows and people are saved and given eternal life. We are privileged to do what this woman did for her friends, to at least tell them what Jesus has done for us and bring them to where Jesus promises to be with us and to bless us through His Word and Sacrament. Hopefully, within the fellowship of our congregations our friends will also be exposed to His Word, Holy Scripture, the Bible, the glorious good news of God’s gracious forgiveness and salvation, so that they too may come to believe in Him.
When we speak to others of Christ and bring them to His Word, we are entering into the “labor” of the kingdom. It is not a terribly difficult labor even though it has its challenges, disappointments, and dangers. We need to keep in mind that all does not depend on us, and that the process can be lengthy. Sometimes we are able to “reap” because others have labored hard in the “sowing” [and also the watering, fertilizing, weeding, and pruning]. At other times we are the ones doing the initial sowing, or some of the other labor that is required before the reaping occurs. So we must take care to understand what phase of the labor we are involved in so that we do not grow weary and depressed, thinking that our work is in vain because we are not immediately harvesting. Likewise, when we are privileged to witness and observe the harvest we must acknowledge that others have already labored, and that only God can draw and enable people to come to believe in Jesus. While we are engaged in labor, the favorable outcome is not our doing but the miraculous work of God accomplished through His Word.
The faith that these Samaritans had in Jesus was that He is the “Savior of the world.” This is the ultimate goal of all proper Christian work. The law is preached not merely to give knowledge of right and wrong, as important as this is, but rather to make people aware of their sin and guilt [Rom. 3:20] and to “imprison everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.” [Gal. 3:22] The joyous gospel [good news] that Jesus’ Word brings to us is the assurance that in spite of the suffocating reality of our sin we have “redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.” [Eph. 1:7] The promise of Jesus is that whoever “hears My Word and believes Him Who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but has passed from death to life.” [John 5:24] This is wondrously good news for us to hear, grasp, and believe; it is also the joyous and blessed labor given to us, to pass this good news on to others – so that they too might believe and pass from death to life.
There is much activity within the church that is understood as “Christian” work, but unless it has this goal in mind and involves this passing along of the Word of Jesus, the salvation of God, so that through this Word God may bring people to the blessings of faith and eternal life, it fails the description. We may not always be able to go directly to the Word of Jesus when working with people, but this is always the ultimate goal. Earthly relief is good but eternal life and salvation is obviously much more important. So, consider the labor that Jesus bids us to participate in, the great blessings it brings. May this labor always be our greatest joy – regardless of what phase of the labor we are blessed to render, for as the apostle put it: “let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” [Gal. 6:9] To God alone be all glory!
Prayer For The Day
Dear Lord Jesus, by the sowing of Your Word we have come to know and believe Your gracious love, mercy, forgiveness, and salvation. Help us grasp how blessed we are to join You and others in the labor of Your kingdom, speaking, witnessing, bringing, sowing, encouraging, and reaping. Grant us constancy and zeal, and great humility and joy, as we work in Your vineyard. Amen.