Look and See the Harvest

On Dec. 17, 2000, a New York newspaper printed the following:

“Bosses of a publishing firm are trying to understand why no one noticed that one of their employees had been sitting dead at his desk for 5 days. George Turklebaum, 51, a proofreader for 30 years, had a heart attack in the open-plan office he shared with 23 other workers. He quietly passed away on Monday, but no one noticed until Saturday morning when an office cleaner asked him why he was still working during the weekend. His boss explained, ‘He was always much absorbed in his work and kept to himself.’”

The story immediately traveled around the world via the Internet with thousands speculating how such a thing could have happened. It turned out that the story was actually a hoax, although many people continued to believe it for a long time.

Would it really be possible to ignore a dead person in a public setting for that length of time? I think most of us would agree that could never happen. Yet I suggest to you that it happens every day, and we all do it! Every day we pass the dead without a second thought. Of course I'm not talking about physically dead people but the “living dead,” those that Scripture refers to as “dead in their trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1).

They are our coworkers, servers at our favorite restaurant, commuters in our carpool, cashiers in the stores we frequent, our doctor, gardener, barber, manicurist. Some of them may even be our friends and family members. We're so used to living among them that we scarcely notice their condition.

The apostle Paul described their condition in Ephesians 2:12: “They are living apart from Christ, utterly estranged and strangers with no share in the sacred promises of God. They have no hope and are in the world without God.” Jesus urged His disciples, “Wake up and look around! See that the fields are already ripe for harvest.”

Jesus didn’t want His disciples to become complacent about the living dead who surrounded them. He instructed, “Notice them,” and went on to command, “See how they are ready for harvest.” This type of seeing is not physical but spiritual. We can see with the eyes of our heart under the direction of the Holy Spirit. If we are open to His guidance, God's Spirit will show us who is ready to enter the Kingdom of God and how to reach them in a personally relevant way.

Abba God doesn’t have a one-size-fits-all approach. Jesus told His disciples that one plants, one waters and another harvests. He was acknowledging that each person is in their own unique place in their journey toward the Kingdom of God. We need to be sensitive to their present interests and receptivity to understand how best to encourage and minister to them.

One of the most exciting parts of our destiny as God's children is our commission to share the good news of God's Kingdom. We are to encourage the living dead in our lives to receive the abundant life of God by being reconciled to Him. Our lives become an incredible adventure as we literally get to call the dead to life every day!

Start looking now and become aware of the living dead in your life. Live boldly! Ask the Lord to help you see them with His heart and understand what they need from you today to help them progress in their journey towards His Kingdom.

I invite you to be a part of our services this Sunday at 9:30 AM and 11:30 AM. As we continue our “Prophetic Destiny” series, I will be sharing on “God’s Kairos Time for You” as the Lord unravels more about fulfilling your prophetic destiny!