The Time To Reap

Then another angel came out of the temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, "Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe."
Revelation 14:15 

The book of Revelation has perplexed many people over the years. I am no scholar of this book, but this verse strikes a chord because it ties in so well with John 4 where Jesus says, “I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.” It is good that we live in the hope that we could be the people who see the Great Commission completed in our time. John speaks about the hope of seeing Jesus again and becoming like him. “Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.”

It is my contention that the marketplace is one of the fields that is ripe for reaping, particularly at this juncture in history. With all the diversity in the world—and God gets glory from diversity—we live in a time when technology spreads culture quickly. “The harvest of the earth” is becoming more homogenous each day. This creates new opportunities for sharing Jesus.

So we have to then ask ourselves, particularly if we are business people, “What is my sickle?” We have been too one-dimensional in thinking about reaping. Imagine for a moment if every professional “tool of the trade” were an instrument of reaping. What if our spreadsheets were repurposed? What if our business strategizing had a sharper edge? What if our products were multipurpose? What if our marketing and messaging imparted deeper truth? 

"Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe." 

Reflections

• What color is your harvest? What will it take to change your viewpoint to the color white?
  
  
• What is your sickle?
  
  
• How can you use it this week?