The Evangelist practices the upcoming Sunday’s sermon before his church’s faculty. The topic centers around keeping one’s faith during trying times. He’s mastered the balance between inciting the zeal of his fervent believers, while appealing to the conservative respectabilities of his milder following. In doing so, he walks a fine, narrow path, yet enjoys the benefits of the wide and broad gate.
His congregation loves it. He’s emphatic in the right places, sympathetic in others. A couple well-timed blessings from God cement the strength and clarity of his message:
“The harvest is plenty, but the workers are so very few! In these coming days, we have a choice to make. Do we allow the harvest to spoil, the harvest that God has so generously provided? Or do we take up our tools and reap the harvest as faith’s reward? As those who choose a New Life, we ought to choose the latter!”
And thus, the workers spread forth to reap the bountiful harvest. The work of embracing this New Life begins.1