Devotions with Pastor Blake Owings

Be A Crazy Farmer

This last week I had the incredible opportunity to go on a work and witness team to Cactus and Dumas, Texas. It was a blessing and a privilege to be a part of what God was doing in these small towns. We put on a VBS and a gymnastics camp which God used us to reconnect people who had been disconnected from the church. We did a lot of physical labor including painting, digging, planting, moving gravel, installing carpet, and more which God used to create a more comfortable space for these ministries to happen. I could go on and on about the different things God did that week, but this is supposed to be a short devo. I want to share one of the things that God taught me on this trip.
Every night before bed we met as a team and debriefed about our day. On our last night, Pastor Todd (One of the pastors we worked with on the trip) shared some insight about the Parable of the Sower that I had never thought about before.

Matthew 13:3-9
He told many stories in the form of parables, such as this one: “Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seeds. As he scattered them across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them. Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. But the plants soon wilted under the hot sun, and since they didn’t have deep roots, they died. Other seeds fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants. Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted! Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”

Jesus shares later in the chapter the meaning behind the parable being how different people apply the Gospel in their lives. How some are receptive to the Good News and how some are not. But how often do we think about the farmer in this story? You see, the farmer is kind of a crazy farmer. This parable doesn’t begin with the farmer preparing the soil. It begins with him throwing seed all around his field, seemingly not caring where it ends up. The farmer is us, followers of Christ. And our commission as Christians is not to prepare people. It's not to make sure they are the perfect humans and then tell them about Jesus. No, it is our job to spread the good news of Jesus Christ no matter who it is. It is to throw seed (the gospel) all over and not care where it lands. We can do this by doing big things like going on a mission trip. However, it is really in the simple things where we begin to see the biggest change. Offering to help someone, taking someone to lunch or eating with them, being friendly to that person who is difficult to get along with, praying with someone… It doesn’t matter who the gospel falls on to. As long as we are doing what Christ has called us to do. I encourage you to ask God to show you the people who need to hear and see the Gospel in your life, and to give you the courage and strength to go and spread it like a crazy farmer!
Pastor Blake