On the
same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea. And great multitudes
were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the
whole multitude stood on the shore. Then He spoke many things to them in
parables, saying: “Behold, a sower went out to sow. “And as he sowed,
some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. “Some fell on stony
places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up
because they had no depth of earth. “But when the sun was up they were scorched,
and because they had no root they withered away. “And some fell among
thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. “But others fell on
good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
“He who
has ears to hear, let him hear!” Matthew
13:1-9 NKJV
In the
valley where I live, Memorial Day weekend is traditionally the time when the
locals plant their gardens. Up until
then, there is usually the possibility of a late frost which would kill the
young plants or flowers. Since I always
have a garden, this past weekend was spent as it usually is, tilling the soil
and planting the vegetables I hope to harvest.
Although not large by many standards, it still is a chore which entails
a lot of work but in my mind is worth it when the time to harvest comes in late
August. That is, of course, if I can
somehow beat off those critters who hope to take the fruit of my labor before I
can. Who knew raccoons like sweet corn
anyway? (This verse from Job seems appropriate even if it is taken out of
context)
Because
the hungry eat up his harvest, Taking it even from the thorns, And a snare
snatches their substance. Job 5:5 NKJV
I
suppose it is because I enjoy gardening that I also enjoy and appreciate how
the Bible uses farming terms and illustrations when referring to the work done
on this earth in regards to the kingdom of Heaven. Jesus continually used these during His
ministry here on earth, and I am sure most of us can recall many of them from
reading His Word. The time came when
Jesus began to teach only in parables, and most of them used analogies to
sowing, cultivating, and harvesting. The
very first parable Jesus taught was the Sower and the Seed, which today’s blog
begins with and one which I am sure most of us are familiar with. This trend continued throughout His ministry
and He even chose to use it at the very end while referring to His own death
and resurrection.
But
Jesus answered them, saying, “The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified.
“Most assuredly, I
say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains
alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. John 12:23-24 NKJV
Those
who choose to believe in the salvation given by Jesus’ death and resurrection
become the “grain”, or fruit of His labor.
We in turn become the sowers who sow the seed to an unbelieving world,
spreading the good news of salvation to anyone willing to hear. The Church, the body of Christ, produces the
laborers Jesus uses in the fields of this world. Has it ever occurred to you that when you
became a believer, no matter what your vocation, you also became a farmer? It is our responsibility to sow the seeds of
good news to an unbelieving world.
Then He
said to them, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore
pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. Luke
10:2 NKJV
I
was reading Paul’s letters to Timothy this past week when I noticed a verse I
had read before, but somehow possibly not quite completely understood and it is
what prompted this whole train of thought I am sharing with you today. Paul is writing to Timothy in his second
letter and giving him encouragement by giving examples of the character traits
to be found in one who chooses to serve Christ.
One of these illustrations is that of a farmer, and I found it interesting
especially as I was contemplating my garden, and the possibility of once again losing
it to my nocturnal friends.
The
hardworking farmer must be first to partake of the crops. Consider what I say,
and may the Lord give you understanding in all things. 2 Timothy
2:6-7 NKJV
As
I read this, my first thought was how appropriate it was considering what I had
been thinking about. Then of course, I
began to think about what Paul was trying to convey to Timothy, and as I did, a
thought occurred to me which I had not ever previously considered. The idea of being the first to partake as a
reward for hard work seems appropriate, but then I began to think about where
and when the Church might expect to be rewarded and an interesting thought
appeared. Since Paul taught and affirmed
the position of a pretribulational rapture of the Church, is it possible this little
verse to Timothy is saying the same thing?
If
you think about it, the fact that the Church fulfills the role of the farmer
sowing the seed, and the fact that Paul says the farmer should be the first to
partake of the harvest, does it not make sense that will occur at the time of
the rapture of the Church? It certainly
seems possible that Paul was trying to convey that message to Timothy here, and
to us as well. As we labor here on
earth, and especially in these times as it gets more and more difficult to do
so with the opposition and hostility we sometimes face, a little encouragement
along these lines seems refreshing and invigorating. The Church will soon be raptured to spend
eternity with the Father, and our reward for our labor is the knowledge that as
hard working farmers, we will go first!
Keep
watching.
