Living in Saint Louis, you learn to expect one constant: The weather will change. It seems like you finally get accustomed to whatever the current temperature is, and then in a split second, it’s completely different. This year, I think winter has arrived in a hurry. We were in the 50?s and 60?s one day, and the next, down into the 20?s with snow. I remember one time when I was younger, that my aunt from Virginia was coming to visit. She asked my dad, “What kinda apparel should I be packing for your weather right now?” His response, “Oh you know, t-shirts, jeans, and a heavy winter jacket.” But that’s not the funny part. As will not shock any true resident of Saint Louis, she actually used both the T-shirts and the jacket in the same week. Some of you, well, most of you actually, are probably rather unhappy about the colder temperatures, the snow, etc. I personally enjoy it. (I know, I know. I’m strange) If it’s spring you’re after, you’ve got about 4 months to go unfortunately. That however has me thinking about a similar conversation that occurred a very long time ago.

You see, the Disciples had caught up with Jesus as He was talking to the Samaritan woman. The conversation that followed went like this: “Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?” Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” They came out of the town and made their way toward him. Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.” But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.” Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?” “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.” John 4:27-35

What we end up reading is an example of opposite focuses. The disciples were trying to find out if Jesus had food. They were focusing on the externals. (food, clothing, etc.) Jesus on the other hand was concerned about this woman He was talking to and her spiritual condition. He was after the internals. We have a natural tendency as humanity to focus on our current situation, our present needs, and plan for the future according to those things. But Jesus, in a perfect display of love for this world, is far more interested in what is here and now: the Harvest. The natural may not scream that it’s time to reach out to people, but the spiritual tells a very different story. In the words of Jesus, “Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.” In other words, you’re waiting for things to look right according the externals. Don’t worry about those. Look with the eyes of your heart because the time is now! As a church, we’re taking bold steps and decidedly walking out something that would terrify most: we’re choosing to stop looking at the externals. My desire is that we would be united in that regard. Let’s stop focusing on what our eyes see and pay more attention to what the Eyes of Jesus are seeing. Let’s be known as those who cared far more about people than buildings, programs, and the rest. It’s in that place, that positioning of our hearts, that we will see God do more in, and through us, than anywhere else. There’s not 4 months left church. The time is now. – Pastor Joe