Were you in bed by 10 pm on New Year’s Eve, or was it already 2:00 am and you were just pulling back the sheets? I’ll bet most of us were somewhere in the middle, although I’ve got to admit that this year, with just me and Linda at home alone, long before midnight I fell asleep on the couch watching a movie. (Trust me – it wasn’t very action packed!)
While staying up until midnight does bring the fun of an “Auld Lang Syne smooch” with Linda, the turning of the calendar brings a more important reminder that perhaps this will be the year of Jesus’ return. We (or at least I) tend to live as if the hour isn’t urgent. But what if it is? What if it really is urgent that we move with alacrity and faith and a heart that beats deeply for the lost?
Jesus’ parable in Mark 12:1 – 12 speaks to me of the beauty of the vineyard that God created for us to tend. It had everything it needed to be a fruitful vineyard – good soil, water, a wall, room for cultivation and even a watchtower for protection. However, the chief priests and teachers of the law took great offense at Jesus’ parable for they knew that, like the stewards in the story, rather than working on behalf of the vineyard’s creator/owner, they were abusing His creation and simply working it for their own power and pleasure.
As today we seek to tend the vineyard of Europe, the chief priests and teachers of the law are still at work. They are wrapped in the clothing of man-centered solutions and lured by the grip of the mammon spirit. They have too much at stake – as did the rulers of Jesus’ day – to simply let the reign of Christ take root. In fact they are desperate in their fight against the simple truth of the gospel and the light of Christ
I love the fact that while our Momentum Europe team might have grabbed a few extra zzz’s on New Year’s Eve, they are standing tall in the field of reaching leaders in Europe. They are confronting the enemy daily – and I mean that literally. All of us get to work together in the harvest – redeeming the field of Europe one soul at a time. If indeed this is the year of the Lord’s return isn’t it important that we stay focused on the task at hand? It’s certainly never easy, but it is always pleasing to the Owner.
Happy New Year everyone. Let’s trust God for an amazing 2019 harvest.