We
Must Finish Our Task!
Though
all of self and hell oppose!
By
Carlton Spencer
"My meat is to do the will of Him that sent me, and the FINISH HIS WORK... Lift up your eyes, and look on the
fields; for they are white already to harvest." John 4:34-35.
In
considering the life of Jesus, we can not help noting that His desire was to please the Father and to do His will –
yea, and even more, it was His very life. His testimony when He came into the world was: “Lo, I come,... to do thy will,
O God.” (Hebrews 10:7). He came expressly for that purpose.
Early
in the years of His ministry, we find Him testifying, “My meat is to do the will of Him that sent me, and to finish
His work.” It was not alone sufficient that the task had begun, but also that it be followed through to Gabbatha, to
Gethsemane and to Golgotha. His feet never turned from the path nor His heart from its purpose, though He knew what was before
Him. In coming into the world, He might have healed the sick and the lame, comforted the sorrowing and restored the dead to
life, and still have evaded the cross. But the cross was His objective, and all else was secondary. The years of His ministry
to the disciples were to prepare them for this event, yet their eyes were holden.
Finally,
in His High priestly prayer, He testifies to the Father, “I have finished the work which Thou gavest me to do.”
He had been faithful in His life, and was in a few short hours to prove His faithfulness in death, even the death of the Cross,
declaring in triumph, “It is finished.” The work was finished. His mission was completed. And He again was exalted
to the Royal Throne on high, and by His offering of Himself to God He has provided eternal redemption for all who believe.
His redemptive work is finished and complete.
However,
let us consider the fact that as He was commissioned by the Father as the first and greatest missionary, so He has commissioned
us, “Go ye.” And as He was given a work to do, so has He given this command, “Go and make disciples of all
nations.” (Moffat)
Noticing
the context of our text, we find Jesus had just been ministering the water of life to a thirsty, needy Samaritan woman –
one outside the covenant promises to Israel. Then, when urged by His disciples to eat, we hear Him say, “I have meat
to eat that ye know not of” - doing the will of the Father, ministering to those for whom nothing was prepared.
Now
let us take special care to note the relationship of doing the will of God to the need of the world. Verse thirty-five reads,
“Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? Behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look
on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.” This has long been used of God to stir us to the need of the
millions without hope; but how much more should we be moved when we recognize the fact that as these two verses are placed
together, so missionary enterprise is inseparably connected with doing the will of God and finishing His work.
This
verse brings to mind a vision given to a sister of a vast over-ripe wheat field. The golden heads of grain were bending over,
ready to break of and drop to the ground. A group of men, wearing heavy winter overcoats were gathered around an old worn
out reaper, trying to repair it, while the grain was falling to the ground never to be gathered. When asked about the overcoats,
the Lord spoke, “Out of season.” In the foreground lay a bright new sickle, with no one making use of it. The
Lord said, “This sickle represents the sword of the Spirit, but none of these are willing to yield sufficiently to wield
it.” What a lesson there is for us, as saints of God. Our “out of season” methods and “labor-saving”
machinery will not reap the harvest, because God is seeking hand-reaped grain. We must come to grips with the enemy of all
men and wrest souls from his grasp. If the Son of God could not take the easy path, how can we if we are His disciples? There
is no easy way!
Consider
our task! After nearly 2,000 years only one-third of the earth's population have heard of Christ (to say nothing of the multitudes
who have lived and died during those centuries). There are 600,000 towns in India where there is not even a native Christian
and 500 native states in the same country have no missionary. Latin America, our next door neighbor, had been so neglected
that there are cities approaching a population of 100,000 without a Gospel witness. Is the work finished which He has given
us to do?
Thank
God, He, the Lord of harvest, is working. Reports of great awakenings are coming from war-torn countries. In Russia, Ethiopia,
China, and other countries, the hearts of men are turning to the “God of Heaven.” The war, though on the one hand
a judgment from the Almighty, is opening doors into new fields and, as a result, traveling will be quicker, and language study
easier because of the simplification of languages.
"The fields are white already to harvest." The doors are open – but not for long. Saints of God, Awake!
Arise! The responsibility is yours. Take up the task and finish the work. The consummate purpose of God is at stake.
All
this with the responsibilities of those already on the field, increases our task. Let us ask the Lord what He would have us
do, remembering, “My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me, and to finish His work!” at home and abroad.
"Let us not be weary in well doing, for in due season we shall reap if we faint not;" so that with the apostle
we may say, “I have finished my course.”
"Speed these lagging footsteps,
Melt
this heart of ice,
As
I scan the marvels
Of
Thy sacrifice.
Lift
these earth-bound longings,
Fix
them, Lord, above;
Draw
me with the magnet
Of
Thy mighty love."
