Reflections - The Seed or the Harvest?

The Seed or the Harvest?

Which would you choose?

An Angel of the LORD appeared to a farmer who was sitting at the doorstep of his cottage overlooking his farm. He owned ten acres of land. Since his means were limited, he planted only on one acre of his land.

He was prudent about managing his costs. He knew what returns he can expect. He spent accordingly. He avoided all borrowings. He valued his spartan lifestyle, free from debt.

The Angel of the LORD said to him that God had favored him. He could make a wish and God will grant it to him. For a person who lived on the farm all his life with low land holding, the thought of asking for a bigger house, bigger bank balance, bigger whatever, did not even occur to him. His farm was his life. Also, he had just planted the land.

“My Lord, bless me with a bountiful harvest.”

The Angel of the LORD asked the farmer where he had planted on his 10-acre land. The farmer pointed to the one-acre on which he had planted. The Angel of the LORD raised his hand toward the planted part of the land and blessed it.

When the time came for harvest, the farmer was blessed with a bumper crop. The farmer fell to the ground and gave obeisance to God.

With the returns he got from that year’s crop, he felt confident to plant two acres of land the following year.

When he had finished planting, again the Angel of the LORD presented himself, looked over to the planted two acres and blessed it. Again, the land yielded mightily. When it happened, the farmer fell to the ground and gave God obeisance.

This phenomenon repeated itself year-after-year. In the third year, the farmer planted four acres of land. In the fourth year, he planted all ten acres of land.

In the fifth year, with the handsome resources at hand, he bought and planted another ten acres of land. His assets had doubled to twenty acres and all of it was planted.

In the sixth year, he bought another twenty acres and his assets stood at forty acres of land – all planted to the hilt.

His farm was now mechanized. In the seventh year, to get economies of scale he bought another sixty acres and planted on all hundred acres of land. With less effort he could plant on more land.

He made some minor extensions to his cottage. Made some new furniture. His favorite, a comfortable rocking chair, on which he would spend hours, reflecting on God’s amazing grace and mercy towards him.

He waited for the visit of the Angel of the LORD who always appeared when the planting was over. The day passed; evening came. No Angel. Days passed; no Angel. Weeks passed; no Angel.

The farmer began to panic. He could not sleep well at night. He missed some of the routine farm work – removing the weeds, fertilization, protection against pests etc., When it came time for harvest, the crop failed.

The farmer was beyond consolation. Now, instead of the reassuring sight of the approaching Angel of God over six long years, he was being approached by his creditors.

With prosperity becoming routine for the farmer, he had forgotten some of his life’s philosophy – avoid borrowing and piling up debt. Prosperity had made him complacent about his own principles.

The creditors who lent him money to buy the additional sixty acres of land, and toward cost of planting on the extra land, were calling on him to get their dues.

He had no recourse but to sell 90% of the land to settle his debt. He was left with his original ten acres and some money for his daily provisions.

In the eighth year, with the meagre resources at hand, he managed to plant one acre of his land. The mechanical equipment he had bought on loan were seized by the creditors. He was back to planting by hand.

As he sat on his creaking rocking chair, looking yonder, he once again spied the beatific sight of the Angel of God approaching.

He fell to the ground and cried. “My Lord, why did you abandon me when I needed you the most?”

The Angel of the LORD felt very sorry for the farmer. He helped him up and sat him down on the chair.

The Angel of the LORD said, “I am so sorry. When I visited you in the sixth year, I should have told you, that the seventh year is the year of rest for me. I don’t go anywhere but sit at the feet of God. I, too, need to renew my mind, revitalize my body, and refresh my Spirit.”

“Well, all is not lost. You have your land still. I see you have planted one acre as the first time we met. Let me bless it and all will be well again. Only remember let your land, your body, your workers - let them all rest. Keep the Sabbath Year holy.

The farmer had learnt his lesson. Henceforth, he rested his land on the seventh year.

For the first time in his life, he left his cottage and his district, to travel to places of pilgrimage thanking God for His exceeding kindness, love and mercy.

On my birthday, one of my daughters, who is very prayerful, shared Psalm 2:7-9 MSG version with me:

“Let me tell you what God said next. He said, “You’re my son, And, today is your birthday. What do you want? Name it: Nations as a present? Continents as a prize? You can command them all to dance for you. Or throw them out with tomorrow’s trash.”

I said to myself, Wow! What a blessing? What should I ask?

-The Seed

-The Sowing

-The Harvest

If I ask for HEALTH, WEALTH, PEACE that’s would be asking for the HARVEST.

If I ask for GOOD SKILLS & EDUCATION (“intelligence”, “diligence in studies”) that would be asking to be set up for success: The SOWING

If I ask for WISDOM (as King Solomon did) that would be asking for the SEED.

Without the ‘seed’, the ‘sowing’, and ‘harvest’ would not exist.

Like the farmer in the story who had planted the seeds and desired a bountiful harvest, I said to the LORD, that the ‘’seed’’ I wish to plant are my reflections that I write. 

I said, “LORD, you have given me the ability to ideate and the writing skills to give flesh to an idea. So, help me make the scripture interesting for teenagers and adults alike that they may be attracted to the Word of God - and build their life on that foundation.

With the seed sown, I now look with faith to the harvest to follow, when God blesses these reflections; drawing to Himself those that are far from the Word; and they in turn embrace Him, willingly, wholly and fully.

Tuesday, April 21, 2020