Don't miss the harvest...

This is normally strawberry season here in Spain. I'm blessed that the weekly fruit and vegetable market is held right in my street. I can usually go out my front door, cross the road and find an amazing array of fresh produce directly from the farmers. (See photos above.) When the strawberry season reaches its peak, I can pick up a big 2-kilo box of the delicious sweet berries for only three euros.

That's not happening this year. Yes, you can still find strawberries in supermarkets, but nothing like the cheap and plentiful amount that is usually available in the open air markets. It got me wondering: Where are all those strawberries? Does coronavirus lockdown mean that they're not being harvested this year? And does that mean that they'll just spoil and go to waste?

I don't know about your country, but here in Spain, we're beginning to read in the newspapers that it's been difficult to find workers to bring in all the strawberries and also the loquats that are so common at this time of year. It really does seem that there's a danger of some of that harvest being lost to us. (If you're not familiar with loquats, you'll see a picture below. We call them níspero here.)

It reminded me of that passage in Matthew 9 vs 37 - 38, where Jesus tells His disciples that the harvest is ready, but that there are few workers to gather it in. And it made me wonder if that human harvest has a time limit on it like our strawberry harvest: if people are receptive to the gospel and ready to accept Jesus, but we don't reach out and "harvest" them in time... do they lose that readiness and is that harvest lost for the kingdom?

I really believe that this pandemic season has confronted many people with their own mortality and that hearts have become more open to hear the gospel. Ask Jesus who in your circle of family or friends is becoming open and ready for "harvesting." Don't miss out on the opportunity to share God's love with them in this very special time.