John 4:36

“Even as we speak the reaper of souls for life is drawing his wages.  He is now presently harvesting souls for eternal life.  This is reason to celebrate for both the one who sows the seed and the one who reaps the fruit of their labor!” John 4:36 EFP

I have always associated the reaper of souls with a negative connotation. The black-hooded and faceless character with a sickle in his hand (her hand?) doing the dastardly death duty.  It just goes to prove how twisted is the material that emanates from the demonic PR department.  Here Jesus is referring to himself as the “reaper of souls”, not for death but for life.  The disciples are out hunting for bread to eat while Jesus, the reaper of souls for life eternal, is busy at work doing what he has been called to do.

Jesus uses some very interesting language in describing this reaping.  For one he refers to the reaper “drawing his wages.”  What are the wages he draws?  If Jesus is the reaper of souls for life, what are the wages he receives?  I can only surmise from my limited perspective that he is referring to the woman, who even as they speak, is running to her village to share of the encounter she had with someone who appears to be the Messiah.  The harvest has already begun.  Every day of his ministry is reaping time.  By that definition John can be considered the sower.  He is the one who prepared the way for the Messiah.  He plants the seeds of repentance; Jesus comes and begins to reap souls for His Kingdom.  John never totally grasps the breadth of his work or the far-reaching impact of the ministry of the One who came after him.  He dies before the first-fruits are harvested.

The message given by Jesus to his disciples does not end with them.  It remains for me today.  It doesn’t matter who sows the seed or who reaps the harvest; what matters most is that there is a harvest.  The celebration is for those who take part in the labor that leads to the harvest.  Everyone has a part—large or small only from our perspective.  In God’s eyes the labor is equally valuable and the celebration for the souls saved is equally shared by all who experience the joy of seeking and saving the lost.  This is not a labor done to gain salvation or to earn God’s favor.  It is a labor of love done to share the salvation bestowed by God on us to others who are searching for more than the dry and desolate existence masquerading as the life they have endured.  Showers of blessings are upon us now!  Let’s get the word out.