In a dream, I was among many youth called to harvest grapes, only I was old. When we all arrived at the destination, there was a feast ready for us to eat, but it was late and we weren't expected to begin the harvest until the next day. I was gung ho to go get started, but we had to wait.
When we arrived at the place where the grapes were, it was clear that the grapes were high above our heads on tree-like vines that would require skilled climbing. I wasn't a good tree climber, but there were many grapes around the trees that needed to be picked up and taken to the person collecting the fruit. I made several trips, but when I got back all the easy fruit was gone. There was still fruit up above, of course, but nothing that was easy to get to was there.
For me, I'm choosing to interpret this as for me, teaching a Sunday School class is the easy fruit. It doesn't take much more than an hour a week to get ready to teach, and then an hour in class on Sunday. Not much work. It feels like it is accomplishing something for God, but it doesn't cost much time and isn't particularly scary. Taking on a project like commenting on chapters in the Bible takes a lot more work and since it's posted, has much more exposure to ridicule or attack. Maybe I'm supposed to do more, but for now this seems like it.
The challenge posted by this dream is also a challenge to every Christian. What is God calling you to do? In many cases, the easy fruit is gone. People are attending church who want to attend church. Most everyone else isn't, at least in America and Europe and other first world locations. Those who attend church faithfully oftentimes don't do more than attend the main service. If there are other classes they could attend, they don't bother because they think they know as much or more than whoever is teaching the class. Maybe they do. Maybe if that is the case, they should be teaching a class!
But outside those who attend church, many don't believe in the church as a religious institution that is worth anything in the first place. Their reasons vary. Perhaps the church itself is seen as a failure. Perhaps someone in a position of responsibility in a church has done them, someone they know, or someone they've heard about a wrong or many wrongs. Maybe they see the church members as hypocritical. Well, guess what, we're human and we fail, so of course there are times in each of our lives when we are hypocritical. It is a rare parent who isn't hypocritical in the sight of their children at some point in their children's lives. So too with any church.
In the second place they increasingly don't believe in God at all. Maybe they've prayed and God hasn't done exactly what they thought He should do. Either some need wasn't met or wasn't met at the most convenient time or they suffered an injustice they think He should have prevented. These increasingly numerous people are the fruit that is way high up on the vine and is hard to reach.
What is God telling you to do as part of the harvest. We're all called to do our part. We're all commanded to do our part in point of fact. Is your part witnessing? Is your part prayer? Is your part financial? Is your part teaching? Is your part administration? Is your part preaching or being a missionary? Whatever part or parts that God lays on your heart, realize that His work is getting both easier and harder to do. It is easier to reach people with the technology we have today. But on the other hand, the people themselves are much more hardened.
There are still grapes to be harvested. The fruit that is left is just as important to God as the fruit that was harvested early. To harvest the remaining fruit, we're going to need divine help. We might not know how to climb trees with no branches at the bottom. But God knows how. Just like the early church, we need to seek the Baptism of the Holy Ghost in each believer and His Fruit and His Gifts to give power to witness and a spirit that doesn't turn people away before we've had a chance to finish what we need to say.
God has never changed. The power that He provided to the Early Church is still available to the church today. We need to earnestly seek that same Holy Ghost revival experience of Acts 2. After the Holy Ghost was poured out, men who had been cowering in fear for their lives preached the gospel publicly, and thousands were saved. They went in front of the Jewish religious leaders and instead of being cowed, challenged them by saying they would serve God and not man. Every Christian needs that boldness today, and it's available with the Baptism in the Holy Ghost.
God still wants us to reach our neighborhood, home city, state or province, country, and the rest of the world. That's true for every Christian everywhere in the world. Each Christian has the capability with the help of the Holy Spirit to impact their environment for God and show people that He is. That's half the battle right there. Maybe even 75% of the battle.
There is still a banquet feast awaiting all those who accept Christ as Savior when they get to heaven. The road may be hard and long. Satan may set many ambushes along the way. But God is still calling workers to the harvest. Find what He wants you to do and let's get to work.