How easily we presume failure! Look at our churches. When I visit parishes in many places, the people come up to me and ask me if I would like to join the youth group. I am the youngest person in the building. How shall we look upon this? How easily we judge by means that are just wrong! We judge with our eyes. When we judge with our eyes, we could easily say, "Where are those fields white unto harvest? Why does it look like the church is dying?" But whose church is this? Not yours. Not mine. This church belongs to Christ. He says the fields are white unto harvest ( Lk 10:2). Who are you to say otherwise? Don't presume failure when Christ has promised His life. Walk by faith. Walk with your ears wide open. See with the Word of God. Unnumbered myriads stand a golden harvest swaying in the breezes of the gospel breath of God, bending in worship to the Christ that has given such fields life with the seed that His messengers sow.

Only the Bible can show you this. Think of the powerful Martin Franzmann hymn, Preach You the Word: The sower sows; his reckless love/ Scatters abroad the goodly seed,/ Intent alone that all may have/ The wholesome loaves that all men need. Of all his scattered plenteousness/One-fourth waves ripe on hill and flat,/ And bears a harvest hundredfold:/ "Ah, what of that, Lord, what of that!" (LSB 586: 3, 5).

If our pastors sow anything else other than the goodly seed they will be aliens in God's family. They will be false prophets in the house of the prophets. Thirty-three years ago, when I was ordained to the office of the ministry, the Old Testament lesson was Jeremiah 23. Time has not changed what is required: faithfulness. And since that time it has been burned into my mind. I must ever and always speak only for Christ; no matter who is offended, no matter which cultural ox is being gored. Only in this way will Christ be honored, the gospel preached and God's people saved. The apostle to the Gentiles and the greatest missionary in the history of the Christian church had this exhortation for a young pastor at the beginning of his ministry: "Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers" ( 1Ti 4:16). We're not talking about mere opinions, good advice, moral rectitude, or anything so peripheral. We are talking about eternal salvation for the souls of the flock redeemed by the precious blood of Christ. Nothing less. This is why Jesus calls preachers "harvesters." They are gathering in the great harvest of the eschaton by preaching Christ in their ministry.