It is profound that God has already prepared the answers to our prayers before we ever even think to pray them. He sends 72 laborers out to proclaim the good news of the kingdom and then tells them to “pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” (Lk. 10:2) The world needs the Gospel. Sinners need the Gospel. It is true that there is a pastoral shortage. There are many congregations in our own synod who are without a pastor. There are also lots of places all over the world where there are plenty of sinners but no pastors to call them to repent and receive the forgiveness of Christ. Lots of people claim to have an answer to this problem but how many of them begin by calling on the Lord of the harvest to send laborers into His harvest? Most certainly, every Christian man should entertain the possibility that he is himself is one of those whom the Lord would send out. We should seriously encourage every one of our boys to think about attending seminary. St. Paul writes by the Holy Spirit “If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task.” (1 Tim. 3:1) That doesn’t mean that God does call every man to be a pastor, but it ought to be put forward as a serious possibility that is prayerfully considered. The prophet Isaiah in the Spirit writes “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns.'” (Is. 52:7) As we remember with thanksgiving faithful St. Luke, through whom the Lord published one of the accounts of Christ’s life and the first history of the Christian Church as he recorded the acts of the apostles, let us pray to the Lord of the harvest that He would send more laborers for the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. I look forward to seeing you this coming Lord’s Day.
Pastor Ulmer