Daily Devotions
Lift Up Your Eyes!
Reading for November 5th: John 3-4
Weekly reading for November 1-7: John 1-5
"Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest."
John 4:35
Are you an optimist or a pessimist when it comes to evangelism? One of the common denominators I've noticed in friends of mine who are especially evangelistic is that they are generally optimistic people. They believe that people are interested. And even when they have the door slammed in their face, it doesn't seem to deflate their enthusiasm. Though they get turned down again and again, they continue to believe that the next person will be interested.
Was Jesus an optimist or a pessimist? Earlier in his gospel, John tells us that Jesus "did not entrust himself" to those who believed in him because "he knew all people." (John 2:24) Jesus wasn't surprised when the large crowds walked away from him (John 6:64-66). You couldn't accuse Jesus of being pollyannaish.
Yet, Jesus came to Samaria and spoke to a woman whom his disciples would have seen as the least likely to believe. And, while they were concerned about food, Jesus couldn't take his eyes off of the Samaritans coming toward him (read John 4:28-34). Jesus saw all of those Samaritans as a great harvest of souls ready to be reaped.
Jesus was a realist, not an optimist. But the reality was not that "nobody is interested in the gospel, so why should I even try." The reality was that there was a great harvest to be found in Samaria, if only his disciples would lift up their eyes and see it.
Father, lift up our eyes so that we might see the receptive "Samaritans" all around us! Then open our mouths that we might tell them about Jesus!
