We can reap what others have sown.

别人撒的种子，我们也能收割。

Open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. John 4:35

举目向田观看，庄稼已经熟了，可以收割了。-约翰福音4章35节

In late summer, we went for a walk in the New Forest in England and had fun picking the blackberries that grew in the wild while watching the horses frolicking nearby. As I enjoyed the bounty of the sweet fruit planted by others perhaps many years before, I thought of Jesus’s words to His disciples: “I sent you to reap what you have not worked for” (John 4:38).

夏暮时节，我们在英格兰的新森林国家公园漫步，一边观看近处的马群嬉戏，一边开心地摘采野生的黑莓果。或许这些莓果是别人多年前所栽种的，如今却由我来享用这丰美的收成。这使我想起耶稣曾对门徒说：“我差你们去收你们所没有劳苦的。”（约翰福音4章38节）

I love the generosity of God’s kingdom reflected in those words. He lets us enjoy the fruits of someone else’s labors, such as when we share our love for Jesus with a friend whose family—unbeknown to us—has been praying for her for years. I also love the implied limits of Jesus’s words, for we may plant seeds that we will never harvest but someone else may. Therefore, we can rest in the tasks before us, not being hoodwinked into thinking that we are responsible for the outcomes. God’s work, after all, doesn’t depend on us. He has all of the resources for a bountiful harvest, and we are privileged to play a role in it.

这句话所反映的上帝国度中那种慷慨大度，令我十分喜爱。上帝允许我们享用别人劳碌所得的果实，就像我们带领朋友接受基督为救主，其实我们不知道，她的家人可能早已为她祷告多年了。此外，我也很喜欢耶稣这段话的另一层涵义，因为我们也可能撒下种子却一无所获，最后是由别人来收成。因此，我们可以放心去撒种，尽自己的责任，但对于是否有所收成，无须耿耿于怀。毕竟，上帝的工作不是靠我们完成。上帝拥有一切的资源能带来丰收，而我们何等有幸能参与其中！

I wonder what fields ready for harvest are before you? Before me? May we heed Jesus’s loving instruction: “Open your eyes and look at the fields!” (v. 35).

在你我面前，哪里有预备好要收割的庄稼？让我们留心听耶稣慈爱的教导：“举目向田观看！”（35节）

Creator God, thank You for Your great generosity in entrusting us to do Your work. May I be alert to the opportunities to share Your good news.

创造万物的主啊，

感谢祢的慷慨大度，将圣工交付我们。
求祢帮助我，能敏锐地把握机会分享福音。

John 4:35-38New International Version (NIV)

35 Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.36 Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together.37 Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. 38 I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”

整理：于姊妹