<p>4:36 <i>He that reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit to everlasting life; that he that sows and he that reaps may rejoice together</i>- The reapers were the disciples (:38). If they reaped, they would receive wages, and the fruit of the converts they gathered would be that those converts received eternal life. Not just at the last day, but in the sense John's Gospel speaks of- receiving the gift of life after the pattern of the Lord's life, right now. The &quot;wages&quot; surely suggests that work with the likes of the Samaritan woman has its blessings in this life, as well as having eternal consequence.</p><p>The experience of preaching is in itself a foretaste of the future world-wide Kingdom. The harvest is both at the end of the age, according to the parables of Mt. 13, but also is ongoing right now (Jn. 4:36) as we gather in the harvest of converts. The Lord in Jn. 4:35,36 took this figure far further, by saying that the harvest is such that the interval between sowing and harvesting is in some sense collapsed for those who engage in preaching. The reaper was already collecting his wages; the harvest was already there, even though it was four months away (Jn. 4:35). This clearly alludes to the promises that in the Messianic Kingdom there would also be no interval between sowing and harvest, so abundant would be the harvest (Lev. 26:5; Am. 9:13). And hence, we are impelled to spread the foretaste of the Kingdom world-wide by our witness right now.</p><p>The final judgment will be of our works, not because works justify us, but because our use of the freedom we have had and exercised in our lives is the basis of the future reward we will be given. Salvation itself is not on the basis of our works (Rom. 11:6; Gal. 2:16; Tit. 3:5); indeed, the <i>free gift </i>of salvation by pure grace is contrasted with the <i>wages</i> paid by sin (Rom. 4:4; 6:23). And yet at the judgment, the preacher receives <i>wages</i> for what he did (Jn. 4:36), the labourers receive <i>hire</i> (s.w. wages) for their work in the vineyard (Mt. 20:8; 1 Cor. 3:8). There is a <i>reward</i> (s.w. wages) for those who rise to the level of loving the totally unresponsive (Mt. 5:46), or preaching in situations quite against their natural inclination (1 Cor. 9:18). <i>Salvation</i> itself isn&rsquo;t given on this basis of works; but the nature of our eternal existence in the Kingdom will be a reflection of our use of the gift of freedom in this life. In that sense the judgment will be of our works. There are many passages which teach that our salvation will be related to the extent to which we have held forth the word&nbsp;both to the world and to the household (Prov. 11:3; 24:11,12; Dan. 12:3; Mk. 8:38; Lk. 12:8; Rom. 10:9,10 cp. Jn. 9:22; 12:42; 1:20; 1 Pet. 4:6&nbsp;Gk.). Those who reap the harvest of the Gospel will be rewarded with salvation (Jn. 4:36). Such work <i>isn't</i> just an option for those who want to be enthusiastic about it.</p>