Bringing in the Sheaves

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Perhaps one of the greatest hymns that greatly describe soulwinning is "Bringing in the Sheaves" which is based on Psalm 126:5-6 which says:
They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.

The lyrics goes as is:
Sowing in the morning, sowing seeds of kindness,
Sowing in the noontide and the dewy eve;
Waiting for the harvest, and the time of reaping,
We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.
Refrain:
Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves,
We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves,
Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves,
We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.
Sowing in the sunshine, sowing in the shadows,
Fearing neither clouds nor winter’s chilling breeze;
By and by the harvest, and the labor ended,
We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.
Refrain
Going forth with weeping, sowing for the Master,
Though the loss sustained our spirit often grieves;
When our weeping’s over, He will bid us welcome,
We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.
Refrain 

If you're going to carry the Lord's work then expect all sorts of circumstances. It's not going to be easy. Jesus already warned of persecution several times. The Christian life is all about carrying your cross or burden. Read through Matthew to Acts and you won't find one instance where soulwinning and missions is an easy thing. The whole thing about missions is about striving and not relaxing.

The song talks about sowing seeds of kindness. The ugly truth is that missions will always meet opposition yet Jesus taught His disciples to love their enemies (Matthew 5:43-48, Luke 6:27-36). As absurd as it sounds to the human ear but not to those who grow in Christ. This isn't a call to condone evil because that wouldn't be so loving. Instead, it's the call to love people to pray for them and tell them the truth. It's all about returning not evil for evil but returning evil for good.

It's agonizing to really try and repay evil with kindness. The natural man wants revenge while the spiritual man wants to forgive. Forgiveness has been difficult because it involves swallowing your pride. A lot of quarrels stem from pride and continue because of pride. People hurt others because of pride and people want to hurt back because of pride. But returning evil for evil provides no closure. It's only by learning to return evil with kindness that the other person feels the error of their ways.

Preaching the Gospel has not been easy. It sells a very unattractive product to the sinful world. Who would want to be told that they are not basically good? Who can fathom that a holy, righteous God would send His only begotten Son to die a criminal's death for salvation? The Christian faith has never been meant to be popular. John 15:18-19 says that the world loves its own. James 4:4 says that to be friends with the world means to be an enemy of God. You can't be faithful to Christ and popular with the heathen at the same time.

Missions has not been easy. I've read the Foxe's Book of Martyrs and I'm not surprised at all the tortures done at many Christian martyrs. After all, didn't the Bible record persecution of the believers? Stephen preached and he was stoned to death. Peter suffered many times and some say he eventually requested himself to be crucified downward. Paul suffered many persecutions until he was martyred at the hands of Emperor Nero. John died in exile in Patmos where he wrote the Book of Revelation. The legacy of the martyrs didn't stop there. The Church will always face persecution as long as the world is still fallen. There's really much to lose on Earth when you're fighting for the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

It's no wonder why Jesus said not to lay down your treasures here on Earth (Matthew 6:19-21). The ugly truth about worldly prosperity is that it's temporal. You can think that worldly fake pastors are getting a lot of money. The Pope gets bowed down by people almost everywhere. You have wealthy people who don't have Christ who seem to keep getting away as if there's no God. But all these wealth are worldly meaning they can be lost sooner or later. You can expect all that wealth to go away. Think of how often luxury cars get an upgrade or how you can easily lose a lot of luxury items in less than a day. Robbers can easily steal huge amounts of wealth. The rich man went to Hell and Lazarus went to Heaven (Luke 16:19-31). No amount of wealth will last forever.

This is the reality. It's all going to be worth it to suffer for Christ's sake. Revelation 2:10 talks about the Crown of Life. It's all about enduring trials. It's all about persevering for Christ's sake. It's not easy to think about focusing on the eternity. Sometimes, it's easy to feel at home with the world and that's why God chastises those who are His (Hebrews 12:5-7). It's not an easy journey and it's going to be difficult. Sowing seeds of kindness with the Gospel is no joke. It's a full time commitment that can even cost one's life. But what's temporal life compared to rewards in Heaven, right?

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