THE DESIRE

John 4:31-38
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust.

31 Meanwhile, the disciples were urging Jesus, “Rabbi, eat something.”

32 But Jesus replied, “I have a kind of food you know nothing about.”

33 “Did someone bring him food while we were gone?” the disciples asked each other.

34 Then Jesus explained: “My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work. 35 You know the saying, ‘Four months between planting and harvest.’ But I say, wake up and look around. The fields are already ripe for harvest. 36 The harvesters are paid good wages, and the fruit they harvest is people brought to eternal life. What joy awaits both the planter and the harvester alike! 37 You know the saying, ‘One plants and another harvests.’ And it’s true. 38 I sent you to harvest where you didn’t plant; others had already done the work, and now you will get to gather the harvest.”


Jesus tells His disciples that others have already planted. His nourishment comes from finishing the work that His Father sent Him to do.

I believe there is a seed of desire planted in the heart of every person to know God. They desire to know about their creation and the Creator. They desire for a relationship with the One who is above all others. They have questions about life, the end of life and what is beyond the end. They desire eternal life.

God has planted this seed and Jesus has sent His followers, you and I, to gather in the harvest. This desire is satisfied fully only by Jesus. Like the Samaritan woman, run and tell the story. “The fields are ripe for the harvest.”