Daily devotion – Lost souls!
John 4:31–38
31 In the meantime His disciples urged Him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.”
32 But He said to them, “I have food to eat of which you do not know.”
33 Therefore the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?”
34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.
35 Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!
36 And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.
37 For in this the saying is true: ‘One sows and another reaps.’
38 I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors.”
Jesus had just finished ministering to the woman at the well—one broken life transformed by one encounter with the Saviour. Having believed He was the Messiah, she immediately ran back to her town to share the good news with everyone she could find.
In this moment, Jesus turned to His disciples and spoke of a harvest of souls ready to be gathered. He said this to shift their vision—to open their eyes so that they could see what He saw.
No doubt, as the disciples approached Sychar, they thought, “There’s no harvest here—just Samaritans.”
But the opposite was true. And this is a powerful lesson for us.
As Christians living in Australia, we can often think that no one is interested in salvation anymore, that hearts are too hardened, or that no one wants to hear about Christ. Yet Jesus teaches His disciples—and us—that it takes faith to sow the seed, even when the soil looks barren. We must sow, even when we think nothing will come from it.
We never know who has prayed for the one we witness to.
Perhaps as a child they sat in Sunday school and heard about Jesus.
Perhaps a faithful grandmother, a loving aunt, or a praying neighbour has laboured over their soul for years.
We do not know who has gone before us in sowing, nor do we know who will come after us to reap. Our task is simply to be faithful—to share the good news. God takes care of the rest. He ripens the souls. He prepares the heart. He brings the harvest to maturity.
Jesus made it clear: the harvest was ready—but the labourers were few.
This is God’s call to you and I today:
Seize the privilege of bringing in His harvest of souls.
Will you answer Christ’s call?
Will you, this week, take the step to either sow or reap?
Remember: the greatest privilege in life is to be a labourer in God’s harvest field.