harvest

A few weeks ago, our family of six decided to move into a two-bedroom apartment in Surrey, BC. New Hope, a ministry devoted to helping refugees settle into life in Canada, recently purchased a small apartment building. Most of the suites are for refugees, but they also wanted some local Christians to move in to help with the ministry. We volunteered because we saw it as a great opportunity to live out the Gospel with those who are trying to start new lives.

There are many reasons why we made the decision to live with refugees. In this blog, I will explore eight compelling biblical reasons for sharing Christ with those who have not received him as their Saviour and Lord.

1. The Harvest is Ready

Growing up in Saskatchewan, I saw what happened during harvest time. Farmers would postpone almost everything unrelated to the harvest. Their focus was on getting the crops in.

In John 4:35, Jesus tells his disciples that the fields are ripe for harvest. My take on this passage is that he was actually pointing to ripe fields. Yet, walking through those ripe fields were spiritually ready people coming from the town to see this stranger who had known so much about one of their own. They, too, were ripe for harvest.

I believe that there are people all around us who are ready to take steps towards Jesus. We can help them.

2. God Does Not Want Anyone to Perish

God wants everyone to come to repentance. When you read 2 Peter 3:9, you catch something of God’s passion to save the lost. If God does not want any to perish (and they will perish without Christ), then He will draw people to Himself even as He empowers us to be His witnesses.

3. People Need Us to Tell Them about Jesus

In many parts of the world, it is easy to find out about Jesus. One click of the mouse can connect people with the Gospel message. Of course, some people do not have ready access to the salvation message. We need to embody the message and build meaningful relationships with people so that they hear and see the Gospel up close (and pray for and support others who are doing the same both here and around the world).

4. Jesus Said to Love and to Go