The Lord created man in His own image and placed him in the Garden of Eden to work it and to keep it. “…God said, Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the air and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. And God said, Behold I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.” Gen 1: 28-29 After the fall of Adam i.e. mankind, God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. Thus, the farming started. His firstborn Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord but God didn’t accept his offering. Jesus spoke many things unto His followers in parables to know the secrets of heaven.

The parable of a sower and the soil is recorded by three gospel writers, Mt 13:3-9, Mk 4:3-8 and Lk 8:5-8. He said, a sower went forth to sow; the seeds fell at four different places. (a) along the way side (b) stony places (c) among thorns (d) good soil. Here the sower is the preacher, the seed is the word of God and soil is heart of the unbelievers. Jesus was preparing the disciples for the preaching work they have to do after his departure, that is the great commission.

He explained them that devil will come like fowl and catch away that was sown in few hearts. The scorching sun means the persecution and the tribulations ariseth after preaching the gospel. Thorns represent the cares of this world which choke the word and make sown seed unfruitful. Like seed sown seed into the good soil, those who hear and receive the word will bear fruit and bring forth hundredfold, sixtyfold and thirtyfold. He also warned about the antagonists of the gospel.

We know the saying, Sow today and Reap tomorrow. Four thing happens when we sow.,

a) One who sows will reap: A farmer plows the soil, waters it and puts the seed with a hope. Yes, he hopes that he will surely reap in future. So, he sows. Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy. Ps 126:6. Apostle Peter preached gospel and three thousand souls were added to their number (Acts 2:41) and again he preached the word, then many believed the word and the number of men was about five thousand. We know God called Simon Peter when he was casting a net into the sea. Jesus said, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” (Acts 4:18). Philip preached in Samaria. God called Paul (which was Saul’s Gentile name) to preach about Jesus to Gentile people and he did this fearlessly throughout the Roman Empire. He planted many churches in Asia and Europe.

b) Sow some reap few and sow more reap abundantly: Like the seeds that fell on good soil and yielded hundredfold, Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold as the Lord blessed him. God’s desire is for man to increase and flourish. The more we preach the gospel the more souls we can win for Him. We have to enlarge our territories. Regarding a cheerful giver New Testament says: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

c) Same thing will be reaped: Gal 6:7 Whatever one sows he will also reap. but he will reap the same thing. For e.g., if we sow wheat, we will reap wheat itself not rice. Hos 10:12 says Sow for yourselves righteousness and seek the Lord till He rains righteousness upon you. God will open the heavens above and showers down righteousness. If we sow trouble, we will plow iniquity. If we sow injustice, we will reap calamity. Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “she is my sister” Gen 20:2. His son Isaac said of Rebekah his wife, “she is my sister” Gen 26:7. This is a great lesson for parents that whatever we do, our children follow/copy.

d) Don’t sow, Never reap:. Immediate person we recall is the slothful servant who hid the one talent in ground with a handkerchief and returned the same. Master answered him, you wicked and slothful servant. You take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow. So the Master told to take the one talent from him and give it to the one who has ten talents. The worthless servant was thrown into darkness. (Mt 25:24-30). Jesus said; “Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes and see that the fields are white for harvest. Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together.” Jn 4:35,36. Good sowing is done with confident hope that God will give the harvest! Let us ask the Lord for wisdom, faith and guidance in knowing how to be the best spiritual farmers he wants us to be.

By Sam Valluri