And He said to them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest.’” (Luke 10:9).
When God asked Noah to build the ark, He asked him to collect up animals in in groups of seven and two by two…
“The LORD then said to Noah, ‘Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation. Take with you seven of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and two of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate, and also seven of every kind of bird, male and female, to keep their various kinds alive throughout the earth. Seven days from now I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living creature I have made.” (Genesis 7:1-4).
And Noah was obedient to God’s will and followed His request, collecting the animals and building the ark.
Later – thousands of years later – when Christ was alive, a similar sort of thing happened… “After this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to come. And he said to them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest.’” (Luke 10:1-9).
And I have been thinking about that today. You see, in the Old Testament we are told the story of the animals travelling in the ark in groups. And in the New Testament we are told the story of the disciples travelling in pairs.
And though I do not liken animals to the disciples of Christ, I can see similarities in those stories… You see, the animals were grouped up for diversity – so that they could continue to breed – and the disciples travelled in pairs for a similar reason.
It was because Christ did not want TWO Saint Pauls or TWO Saint Peters. God wanted ONE of each. He did not need the writing of Saint Paul in Saint Peter or the preaching of Saint Peter in Saint Luke. He needed different things in different Saints.
And it is the same with me. What God wants of me is to be the ONE that He created me to be. He does not want me to be anything other than the person I was born to be. And I suppose that is why it is a healthy thing to have a healthy self-confidence… When we are over-confident, we become vain and proud. When we are under-confident, we become ungrateful for the gifts we have received.
And I have been thinking about that today, because it seems that there is much yet for me to do to be the ONE who God created me to be… And I must being now, for there is work much yet for me to do…
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.
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