Harvest Time

We reached a mile stone at Fountainview last week. We finished harvesting the carrots! I was on the harvester at the time, and I was filled with mixed emotions. We were done!! No more harvester! But we were also done. No more good times with friends on the harvester. No more monkeying around on the support bars. No more throwing carrots at the tractor drivers.
One thing that I was thinking about the last day, when we were processing the last carrots was about the harvest of people here on earth. Jesus talked about a harvest once. Matthew 9:37-38 says "Then He said to His disciples, 'The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.'" There is a whole world to be saved, and only a few people who are willing to do the job. We had 20 acres of carrots this year (I think...) and there were never more than 7 people working the harvester at one time. But it was the endless working, the long and sometimes overtime hours that got it all done in time. Some of the carrots refused to go into the harvester. They weren't ready! But those who did had all of the leafy greens cut off from them so that they would be ready. The people that chose Jesus must be willing. We can't force them to come to heaven: it's a personal choice. But those who do chose God must allow their sins to be cut off and thrown away. It can be a painful process, but it is a necessary one.
There is a lot to be done in the harvest fields of this world. But there is no way we can do it on our own! We must rely on Jesus, and the hope and knowledge of His second coming. May we all be ready when he comes!