Called to the Fields: A Fall Reflection on Faith and Endurance
Jeffrey Czajka • September 1, 2025
Welcome to fall! Whether it is the changing color of the leaves, enjoying your favorite flavor of pie, sipping an anticipated seasonal hot beverage, the equinox, or the farmers harvesting their fields, no matter how you designate the start of the fall season, it is here. For many, this signals that the year is quickly coming to an end.
At this point of the year, we are conditioned to talk about the harvest. We look towards the goods we gathered from the field–the bushel of apples, piles of pumpkins, the bountiful harvest and feast that awaits. In doing so, we often overlook the labor it took to make these things possible.
This isn’t just a fall phenomenon. If we had the choice, just about all of us would want the harvest without the labor in life. It would be nice, wouldn’t it? The disciples felt that way too. The Sons of Zebedee asked for their seat in glory without ever considering the suffering they would need to endure. The Twelve Apostles argued over who was the greatest before even doing any work to spread the gospel. Peter rebuked Jesus when He foretold His coming suffering.
Think about it, we all seek to know God’s will for our lives. We strive to heed how He calls us to fulfill the Great Commission and “make disciples of all nations” (Mt. 28: 19). Like the disciples, we would like to reap the fruits of Jesus’ promises without the difficulties to obtain them. But Jesus calls us to labor in His fields and vineyard, and this is how His Kingdom would grow. We strive to heed this call, so day in and day out this whole year we sought to represent our Lord in the best way possible. We toiled, we made sacrifices, experienced rejection and pain all to let others know of His name.
After all that labor, we do what is natural to us, we look for the harvest. We have an idea of how we think our efforts should manifest God’s plan in our lives. Unfortunately, when we seek to find the harvest and what we see around us does not match what we expect, discouragement sets in. All the effort, sacrifice, and suffering go through our minds. At this point, we are just plain tired out!
It is in these moments we need to recall the words of Christ when he said, “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.” (Matthew 11:28-30).
Jesus shared this with his disciples right after He sent them out to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 11:6). In that mission brief Jesus foreshadows the persecutions they will endure. Jesus knows the cost and suffering of those who labor in the fields. He knows they need to be reminded of how to endure so they can enjoy the harvest.
While our mission may look different than the Twelve Apostles, we all need reminding of where to go and find rest. Jesus literally called his disciples to Him. How does Jesus call us to do the same? Go to church! Pray. Find your way to be in communion with Jesus and you will find the rest you need. Stop searching for the short cut to get the results you expect and take His yoke. Then the burden will become light, and we can share in the harvest with Him at His banquet.
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On the radio this morning, the daily call-in question was “would you rather have a raise or more feedback from you boss?”. They said their online poll had something like 65% of respondents say “feedback”, but a higher percentage of those calling in said “more pay”. Interesting… While this question may spark good interaction with the radio show audience, it oversimplifies a very complex topic for all parties involved. There is base pay, variable compensation, bonuses, benefits, time flexibility, time off, and so many other things to consider when designing (or accepting) a compensation package which makes looking at the two radio options very situational. Personally, I’ve always found this topic very interesting and revealing when talking with owners/managers. Compensation policies explain a lot about employee retention, productivity, and customer service levels. It also requires the right person to be the in the right job. In the end, there are a ton of creative and impactful ways to attract, retain, and reward employees to achieve growth for everyone. As the radio poll suggest, it is not all about the money, but the money is important.