“The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” ~Jesus (Matthew 9:37-38)
Jesus made this statement after He’d spent the day moving through cities and villages, teaching, and healing the crowds around Him. He saw a harvest of souls, ready and waiting, with almost no one out working the field. This is still an accurate description of today. There are millions headed for destruction, and we are all that stands between them and the gates of hell.
God is challenging me to get out of my comfort zone and, like Jesus, get into the marketplace and share the life-saving Gospel! Jesus modeled what it looks like to spend much of His time in the marketplace and in places where people gathered.
Wherever He entered, into villages, cities, or the country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged Him that they might just touch the hem of His garment. And as many as touched Him were made well. (Mark 6:56)
Can you imagine it? The noise—vendors calling out prices, animals, dust, people haggling over grain and cloth—and right there, in the middle of all that commerce and clutter, is where Jesus was. He walked into the mess because that’s where the people were. So should we.
He did the same thing with the Samaritan woman at the well. This was especially remarkable because of who she was. Jews and Samaritans didn’t mix. There were centuries of religious and ethnic tension between them, and on top of that, she was a woman with a bad reputation, alone at a well in the middle of the day. She was an outcast because of her lifestyle. Every social rule of that culture said Jesus should have kept walking. Instead, He sat down and asked her for a drink of water. She was shocked and asked:
“How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman? For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.” (John 4:9)
Even His own disciples were caught off guard by it.
“And at this point His disciples came, and they marveled that He talked with a woman; but no one said, ‘What do You seek?’ or, ‘Why are You talking with her?’” (John 4:27)
But Jesus wasn’t confused about the boundaries He was crossing. They saw a Samaritan, and Jesus saw a lost soul. That’s the perspective that led Him to cross that line. It’s the same perspective we have to carry into our own marketplace if we’re going to reach people. And, the result of that one conversation?
“…many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, ‘He told me all that I ever did.’” (John 4:39)
Paul followed that same pattern. He didn’t confine his ministry to the synagogue. Luke tells us:
“he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and with the Gentiles, and in the marketplace daily with those who happened to be there.” (Acts 17:17)
Paul was engaged daily. Not just when a crowd had gathered for him, and not only when it was convenient. It was an ordinary part of his life. He had lost souls on his mind wherever he went.
Being a soul winner in the marketplace does not require a special gift.
If you are born again, you have your own story of salvation. If you are walking with God, you have His Word and a testimony of how He leads you. You have prayer. You have the Spirit. If words don’t come easy, begin by sharing a Gospel tract and simply be friendly. If you have the fruit of the Spirit flowing out of your life, your life WILL attract the starving souls around you!
Our marketplace is the coffee shop where you order the same drink every morning from the same barista. It’s the park bench while you’re watching your kids climb the jungle gym. It’s the sideline of a soccer game, standing next to another parent. It’s the person ahead of or behind you in the checkout line, having a harder day than they’re letting on. When we have God’s perspective, we will pray: “Lord, is this a lost soul You have placed in my path? Show me how to love them and reach them for You.”
My friend, we are called to the marketplace to bring the light of Jesus and the gift of salvation to the world. Sometimes you only get one shot with a soul—do not miss it. Each moment is an opportunity to change eternity.
You may never get a second chance to make an eternal impression.
“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16
Prayer:
Lord, thank You for my own salvation. Forgive me for the times I’ve let comfort or awkwardness keep me from crossing into the ordinary spaces You’ve placed before me. Give me Your eyes to see souls the way You do. Show me my marketplace each day, and give me the courage to tell my own story of Your glorious salvation. Pour out the fruit of Your Spirit in my life so others see YOU in me. Use my ordinary days to create extraordinary moments to bring people to You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
