Musing – It’s Harvest Time; Is the Church Asleep?

 Hebraic Musing – It’s Harvest Time; Is the Church Asleep?

I wondered as I just read Proverbs 10:5.   “He who gathers crops in summer is a wise son, but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son.” Proverb 10:5 NIV   More wonderings…
 - Is the Church of Jesus Christ awake or sleeping? 
 - Is this a season in which we should be Harvesting? 
 - Is Harvest time coming to an end?
 - What did Jesus mean by “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.”? Mark 16:15

Is the Church asleep?  Are the congregations asleep?  In the first couple hundred years after Jesus, the gospel was proclaimed and spread over all the known world!  And that was done before trains, planes, phones, autos, roads, broadcasting media!  The early church preached from quotes from the Old Testament, but primarily by sharing their personal testimonies.

A little later, in Proverbs 11:30b we find “and he who wins souls is wise.”  So, I wonder if today’s churches are “wise” if their emphasis is on feeding the poor, becoming Bible scholars, doing community services, and other “good” and friendly and neighborly things. 

During my exposures to foreign countries and missions work, I am always impressed with the dedication by the workers to the role of spreading the Gospel, even while encountering resistance; and we often hear that the resistance they face is rather personal – loss of life, comfort, family, homes, etc. 

On the other hand, when we in America take a risk by preaching the Gospel, we might run the risk of offending or losing a friend, neighbor, co-worker, etc.  Worst case, we might lose our job!  Hmmm – But let’s recognize that eventually that person will die and then… what good will our friendship with him/her be when they are suffering in Hell?  Is our short-term friendship more important than their future of eternity in Hell?

My prayers of thanksgiving and my personal testimony frequently recognizes the people in my life who went out of their way to preach Jesus to me.  How do I thank them?  I want to “pass it on”.  
♫ It only takes a spark to get a fire going, And soon all those around can warm up in its glowing. That’s how it is with God’s love. Once you’ve experienced it, You spread the love to everyone. You want to pass it on. ♫

And I like to thank the Lord for my salvation by singing… ♫ Thank you Lord, for saving my soul. Thank you Lord, for making me whole; Thank you Lord, for giving to me Thy great salvation so rich and free. ♫   

As early as kindergarten we are taught that “Sharing” is the way to show love to our neighbor.  What’s the best thing we can share to really show love to our neighbor?

Thank you for listening to my heart-felt concern for the long-term effect of our soft American Christianity.

Points to Ponder

What is the key role or purpose of the Church?  Of us Christians?

Where are our best and easiest opportunities to Harvest?

To evangelize, do we need to spend $2,000 for an airplane ticket to a foreign land?
Who is your “neighbor”?

What’s the most unselfish thing you can do for anyone?

Go love your “neighbor”, whoever that might be!

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                                      March 12, 2024
Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages exploring the Hebrew roots of our faith”
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