Farming

Have you ever thought about yourself as a farmer, a spiritual farmer? Jesus told his early disciples that they would become spiritual fishermen, and they left their physical fishing nets and became spiritual fishermen. 

Mark 1:17-18 (NLT)  Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” 18 And they left their nets at once and followed him. 

The Bible also refers to the followers of Christ as living like farmers. Farming, like fishing, requires a lot of patience. Sometimes you can fish for hours or even days without catching anything, but fishermen keep fishing. 

The same is true for farming. Farming requires great patience. Farmers realize that it takes time for the planted seed to grow. That seed needs rain, and that seed needs time. Both are necessary for the crop to come to maturity. 

Why do we fish and why do we farm (spiritually speaking)? The ultimate catch, the ultimate harvest, will finally be realized when Jesus comes to gather the harvest unto himself. This truth requires all farmers and fishermen to keep farming and fishing and never give up. 

No one goes fishing or plants a crop without expectation and waiting. The Book of James uses this farming illustration to reveal the necessity of patience as we wait for the Lord’s return. 

James 5:7 (NLT)  Dear brothers and sisters, be patient as you wait for the Lord’s return. Consider the farmers who patiently wait for the rains in the fall and in the spring. They eagerly look for the valuable harvest to ripen. 

I’ll admit that I struggle with the waiting part of spiritual farming. I know the harvest is coming. I know that Jesus is coming, but I struggle with waiting for the harvest to become ripe. God has sown His holy seed upon the earth. The seed is the Word, and that Word is Jesus. By God’s grace, that Word has entered into our hearts (fertile soil) and now we wait for the harvest of God to ripen. More fish will be caught, and more seeds will come to maturity in the fields. 

Every farmer eagerly and expectantly looks forward to harvest time, to experience the reward for the hard work and waiting. It’s ok to live with eager expectancy. I think the Lord expects that from us. 

The Apostle Paul gives this encouragement to the fishers and the farmers in our time of waiting. 

Galatians 6:9 (NLT)  So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. 

So, keep fishing and keep planting seeds…the harvest will be here soon. 

Maranatha, Hosanna, Hallelujah and Amen, 

Terry Cooper 

Lead Minister