Are you a gardener?

He that gathereth in summer is a wise son: but he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame.

¶ Proverbs 10:5

I was never much of a gardener. My parents always had a garden and I hated the work that I had to put into it. One thing I learned is that when whatever you're growing is ripe, pick it. Pretty simple, but this requires you to pay attention while tending the garden. You have to look at the fruits or vegetables and see if they are ripe. If you left it alone, it would over ripen and rot. All of the work and sweat would be worthless if you let this early fruit rot, you should harvest it while you can. The same goes for the spiritual harvest around us right now. We are here to work in God's fields, and we need to be paying attention to the "ripeness" of the people around us. There could be someone right on the edge of accepting Jesus as Savior....they are ripe for the picking, but if you are not paying attention, then it is possible for them to lose interest and never accept Jesus. Some people think that the pastor's job is to lead people to Jesus, but they are wrong. His job is to lead the church that God has entrusted to him. He should witness to people and lead them to Christ if possible, but church members have as much responsibility in leading people to Jesus as the pastor.

There are times for individual fruit to be picked and a time of harvest where all of the fruit is picked. We, as God's children, have a responsibility in His harvest. The closer we get to His return, the more the devil tries to get us to be lazy and not worry about telling people about Jesus. The Holy Spirit is working hard and as Jesus said, "Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest." John 4:35  Jesus is talking about the people that are ready to accept Him, and if the fields were ready for harvest 2000 years ago, what do they look like now? Our time is growing very short! Don't be the son that causes shame because he is sleeping during this time of harvest. God wants you to help Him reap a great harvest for His kingdom. Just as a gardener has no pleasure in his fruit that dies and rots, God has no pleasure in a lost person dying and going to hell. The Bible is clear, "Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?" Ezekiel 33:11The lost, who die and go to hell, are going to a place that was never intended for them. God didn't create hell to punish people who didn't follow Him, He created it for the devil and his angels who rebelled against God. The harvest is ready....Are You?