I am a farmer’s granddaughter and a gardener’s daughter. I grew up watching these men meticulously prepare the soil each year for the new season of planting. My grandpa was a fruit farmer and grew mouth watering plums, peaches and nectarines for market. I crave his fruit even as I type this. One thing I recall most about his orchard in Cherry Valley was the soil. I liked walking barefoot in the orchard because the soil was so well tilled and was lacking rocks, thorns, and weeds. Much plowing, preparation and continued upkeep made the soil perfect for the crops which he grew, and the fruit, oh my word, the fruit was delectable. My daddy also prepares soil every year for his garden. It is time intensive, back breaking work, but reaps a plentiful harvest. Again, the preparation of the soil, the weeding, the removal of rocks all help in the outcome of a fruitful harvest. How do these two examples in my life help me understand how to prepare the soil in the lives of those God has placed in my path? Am I actively helping those in my life prepare their soil? As I read the parable of the Sower, my thoughts turned to discipling others, and how we need to continually help work the soil of those God has given us to minister to, whether they are Christians or unbelievers. Read Mark 4: 3-9 and 14-20. 3 “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4 And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it. 5 Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth. 6 But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away. 7 And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. 8 But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirty-fold, some sixty, and some a hundred.” 9 And He said to them, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” 14 The sower sows the word. 15 And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts. 16 These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; 17 and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word’s sake, immediately they stumble. 18 Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, 19 and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 20 But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.” I realize that this passage is about planting the seed that God has provided, His Good News, in all the world. As Spurgeon says, “Our duty is not measured by the character of our hearers, but by the command of our God. We are bound to preach the gospel, whether men will hear, or whether they will forbear. It is ours to sow beside all waters. Let mens hearts be what they may the minister must preach the gospel to them; he must sow the seed on the rock as well as in the furrow, on the highway as well as in the ploughed field.” What if we apply soil prep to our concept of discipleship? In other words, what if we prepare the soil before a person’s conversion, before we ask someone to say “the prayer” and we diligently work beside them, pulling life weeds, removing rocks, tilling and shoveling, making crooked paths straight, prior to and while we are planting Gospel seeds? What if relationships are built and unconditional love demonstrated while living our own fruitful lives for them to observe? Would we see more lives become the good soil described and therefore produce eternal fruit? Just as great harvests in nature require much upfront soil cultivation, so too does spiritual growth require a similar kind of work. Too often we meet people, share the Gospel and ask them to pray while we hope they get plugged into a Bible believing church, but this is not the mark of a good farmer. A farmer cannot neglect any part of the process or his harvest will fail. I look at how Jesus prepped the soil for three years with his followers. He did not called Peter and ask him to say a prayer of belief. Jesus asked Peter to follow Him and He would make him a fisher of men. It was a process, not an instantaneous transformation. Peter blew it time again in his discipleship course with the Lord, but Jesus kept prepping the soil. He did not let him remain with thorns, rocks and hard packed dirt to define his life. Jesus took the time to build a relationship with Peter, to walk side by side, to pray, to call him to the carpet, to dust him off when he failed, to pull him out of the stormy sea, and to restore him in relationship after he denied Him. When Pentecost occurred, Peter received the Holy Spirit and was never again the same. Discipleship takes time and effort. It does not seem to me to be a once a week kind of discipline, but a walking along the way with those God has placed in one’s life to guide and love through the ups and downs. We are results oriented and when we don’t see results quickly we figure it is just not meant to be or we give up on that person. Think again about a seed. We plant it, weed, water, and watch as we patiently wait for it to push through the ground, only to wait and water and weed and watch some more before there is any sign of fruit. Again however, we must continue to wait for many seasons sometimes before the plant or tree is mature enough to produce the kind of fruit we desire. We rarely apply this truth to the act of discipleship. Perhaps because Jesus has the unique perspective of being outside of time, He is more patient with our slow growth. He does not suffer from the microwave mentality that we must have it hot and done in a minute. We need to have this same perspective, this heavenly eternal perspective that our jobs as farmers to the lost in this world does not happen quickly, but is a labor of love. We must do the work of soil prep, plant seeds, pull weeds, water, pull weeds, cheer when we see a shoot appear, pull more weeds and water, kill the bugs that desire to destroy, shoo away the birds, continue to turn the soil over; we can not leave our plant alone to deal with this world alone for he or she will wither and die. One last encouragement, we don’t plant, water, or harvest alone. The Holy Spirit according to John 16:8-11 is active in the process of salvation, “And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.” We are empowered by the Spirit to do the work for which He has called us. There are others who are also working along side us. As Paul states in I Corinthians 3:6-8, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.” We are responsible before the Lord to do the work, but He has not left us alone in the endeavor. We plow together, we sow together, we weed, water and harvest together and the Holy Spirit convicts, converts and gives the increase. Become a different type of farmer and patiently work the soil in the lives of those whom God has placed in your life. It is a journey, a long walk, not a fifty-yard dash. Follow Christ’s example in the lives of His followers and use His pattern as the way to disciple others.
Posted on: Sat, 12 Jul 2014 07:11:52 +0000