Parable of the Farmer

There was an old farmer who really knew how to farm. He could make a crop when no one else could. Part of it was that he was a hard worker. His wife was up and had breakfast made before day light so he could get in the fields early. He usually had a big noon meal and took a nap right after but was back at it and worked while there was still light in the sky. He wasn’t afraid of sweating or getting dirty.

The other part of his success was he knew his land. Oh, he had some land that anyone could make a crop on… the soil was deep and rich and low and caught the excess rain that ran off. Sometimes he liked to just go and watch it grow. The rest of his land was a bit more challenging; some of it was on a hill and didn’t retain much moisture. On some of his land the soil was thin and weak and if he didn’t catch a rain at the right time his crops would dry up and blow away. On that land if it got too dry he would have to haul water to save the young plants until a rain came.

The other part of his land was next to a brush patch and tended to be a little weedy. If he didn’t get out and hoe those rows four times during the growing season the weeds would out compete his crop for moisture, nutrients and sunlight. The old farmer was the right mix of hard work and understanding how crops grow.

In this parable the savvy Farmer is an Evangelist, Elder or any Christian who is interested in the souls of others. The crop in the weak soil is the new Christian who hasn’t developed the deep tap root of faith… he needs a little help and protection until he can develop. The teacher devotes time and energy teaching about God and giving encouragement and support during stressful times that can be potentially overwhelming.

The crop in the weedy soil is the new Christian who has the wrong friends who pull him away from God and encourage a life of pleasure seeking. In this case the teacher points out the destructiveness of that type of lifestyle and encourages other members to reach out and build relationships with this new Christian… replacing those old friends.

The crop in the deep, rich soil was just a joy to watch. These are the new Christians who don’t need a lot of help. The love of God springs up in their heart and with great energy their faith grows in leaps and bounds. The teacher loves watching the power of God’s word on deep and rich hearts.

Like the farmer, God’s people can accomplish a lot through hard work and understanding what it takes to protect a crop and get it to grow. No one ever said it was going to be easy.