The Work Still Before Us

And he [Jesus] said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. (Luke 10:2 ESV) The reality of Christ’s mission is still true today as is His encouragement for us to pray to the Lord of the Harvest to send more harvesters into the field. Today at International Lutheran Church, we hear Jesus call us to join Him on His mission. Seeing the need is key. Lord, open our eyes!

Many of you are praying for our family as we travel through the United States this summer. Thank you so much! As part of our service to International Lutheran Church in Seoul, South Korea through The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod Office of International Mission, we regularly return to share with supporting congregations and individuals about the work God is doing among and through ILC. We are currently in northern Iowa and this weekend will be speaking at Mission Central in Mapleton, Iowa (https://missioncentral.us). ‘Old Missionary Gary’ and the wonderful volunteers at Mission Central have been supporting our work in Asia for 28 years! What a joy to join these dear brothers and sisters in the Lord and share with them how God is answering their prayers and actualizing their gifts in support of our work together. Already we have been in the homes of many dear saints that personally care about God’s love being shared with all. We, too, are seeing first-hand how God is opening eyes to the need of sharing the gospel, right where we are.

This is the beautiful Gospel point Luke is helping us to keep at the forefront of our minds: Jesus is the One sent to bring the Harvest in, encouraging His followers to pray to the Lord of the Harvest to see that this is the day of salvation for all of us. Right now we have an opportunity to share with all those that God brings into our lives the Good News of what He has done for each of us in Jesus and how He desires all to trust in Him. It is the Good News of what God has done for us that the Holy Spirit uses to draw us to our Savior and to be brought into a relationship with Him that is never ending. What Christ sowed on Calvary - His own self for the life of the world - continues to sprout and grow and be gathered into His barn! As we continue to grow in His grace and love, we see more simply that this is for all. We all need His love and grace each and every day.

God give us eyes to see that the harvest is ripe and move us to pray more earnestly that the Lord of the Harvest would send more workers into the world – even us.

Pastor Carl