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REFLECTION
The theme for our reflection is reaping what others have sown. To reap means to harvest a crop from a piece of land. To sow, on the other hand, means to plant a seed. Reaping what others have sown means to harvest the crops planted by another. We shall reflect on the fact that in a typical agricultural setting reaping what others have sown is prohibited but in the mission of God reaping what others have sown is possible.

Dear friend, unlike a typical agricultural setting, reaping what others have sown is possible in God’s mission. Jesus told his disciples “Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. ³⁷ Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. ³⁸ I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labour.” (John 4:36-38) Jesus uses an agricultural metaphor to teach the disciples about God’s mission in the world and their roles in God’s mission. God’s mission is about two fundamental principles, sowing and harvesting. For this reason, Jesus said to the disciples “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations (sowing -Evangelism), baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you (Harvest -Winning souls and Discipleship)” (Matthew 28:18-20). In other words, preaching the Gospel and winning souls are the main ingredients of God’s mission. Sowing (Evangelism) is the process of planting the seed of the Gospel into the hearts of people. It could be done in a number of ways, it could be an open-air preaching or one on one. If the soil or the heart of the receiver of the Good News is receptive and eager to experience repentance and regeneration, then the same person will be the sower and the reaper. However, if the heart or the soil upon which the sower spread the seed of the Gospel is not receptive or eager to be transformed then it will take time and patience to be harvested. Sometimes by the time the seed germinates and becomes mature enough to be harvested, the sower is not available to reap it, but certainly, there will be another person to reap it during the harvest season.

The beauty of God’s mission is seen in the following facts. First, every sower is a reaper. Secondly, both sowers and reapers are servants or labourers on God’s farm. Last but not least, it does not matter who sows or reaps both the sower and reaper have the same reward from God, the farm owner. It is for this reason Paul admonished the Church of Corinth, “What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. ⁶ I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. ⁷ So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. ⁸ The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labour. ⁹ For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building. (1 Corinthians 3:5-9). In other words, when we go for Evangelism., we either go to sow or nurture what had already been sown or reap that which has been nurtured and has matured. In the end, God uses each one of us at the various stages of the plant’s development. If Christians understand these basic principles of God’s mission then there is no need for any form of rivalry or antagonism among Churches and for that matter servants of God. We must all avail ourselves to work for God anywhere we find ourselves. The one who sows and the one who reaps what others have sown must all give glory to God for the harvest or successful mission. In God’s mission reaping what others have sown is not a big deal because the harvest is aready plentiful and more workers are needed. Jesus reminds us that ““The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. ³⁸ Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” (Matthew 9:37-38). Dear friend, let us go out there to sow and also to reap, for the harvest is plentiful.

Unfortunately, while other churches are out in the mission field or farms sowing and reaping, some churches are neither sowing nor reaping. We are like farm labourers who have harvested or reaped a few crops and are overly excited with the little wage we have been paid by the farm owner and have become complacent and reluctant. We are greatly encouraged to get involved in God’s mission. As we evangelize, others will reap what we have sown. Again as we go to evangelise we shall also reap what others have sown. It is a win-win situation for the Kingdom of God.

In summary, we have meditated on the theme ” Reaping what others have sown.” We have learned that, unlike a typical agricultural setting, reaping what others have sown is possible in God’s mission because both the sower and the reaper are all working for God. In other words, we must go into the field to preach the Good News and also to win souls who have repented as a result of the evangelistic activities of others.

PRAYER
1. Dear friend, when was the last time you preached or shared the Good News with someone? Let us pray for the Holy Spirit to revive the passion for Evangelism in our churches.
2. Let us pray for the empowerment and the ability to disciple and sustain the souls being harvested or reaped in the field.
3. Jesus assures us that “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few (Matthew 9:37), Let us pray for God to raise a generation of workers who will go into the world to harvest souls for the expansion of the Kingdom of God on earth.

PRAYER
Almighty God and Lord of the Harvest, grant us the grace to diligently work for You in the field and may You bless us with a bountiful harvest as both sowers and reapers. Amen.