Let God cultivate the seeds of life

Jim Honeycutt

Chaplain-Baptist Minister

Across the countryside, we traveled in my truck, headed to visit a friend in a neighboring small town. And as we made our way along the rural county roads, we talked and played a game from my childhood. A game that I was pretty good at playing. One that had come quite naturally growing up on the farm. What was the game one might ask? It was the game of name that crop.

Now at this time of year with harvest season right around the corner, it’s not very difficult, particularly since the fruit of the planting is revealed in the open for all to see. But in the early stages of growth, right after the crops are first sprouting, unless you saw the seed that was put in the ground, you can’t tell by the appearance of new growth. For a while as the plant matures in it’s true nature the particular species may not be easily ascertained.

Young plants of corn, milo and hay grazer may look similar, yet each one upon maturing serves a different purpose. Another plant that appears the same at first and is really a weed, is Johnson grass. 

When I was young boy and would walk the fields with my father, he would teach me of farming. Knowing what to plant, how to prepare the soil, planting in the proper season for desired growth, were very important to the success of his farm. My father trusted that whatever seeds he planted in the soil, with proper care and the blessing of rain, would produce a crop.

A cousin of mine, when we were both about 7, came from the big city to our country home to visit for a few weeks. Apparently, his mother, (who had never been on a farm) told him all about farm life. What it was like living in the country, what crops we planted, what animals we raised. So, he was well-versed, in his own opinion, of all things related to farming.

The first thing he informed me upon his arrival was the sugar cane in the field around our house looked funny. I told him that was because it wasn’t sugar cane, it was maize, or milo as some call it. Then he looked at the cows standing in the water at the edge of our stock pond, laughed and called them water buffalos. It didn’t take long to see he didn’t have a clue about farm life. Though he did know corn, for when my father took us to the field to pick some, he told me all about it.

I often think of my walk with my Heavenly Father like my days on the farm. My life being the fields. And like my farmer father planting, tending the crops in his fields, He (God) cultivates the seeds of trust He plants within my spirit. These plantings come from God’s own hand, as I pursue my relationship with him by Bible study, prayer, and fellowship. This I strive to do on a daily basis, for the weeds of the world (anything that denies Christ Lordship) will quickly seek to take over my heart. The desires that allure my eyes can and will stunt my growth if I don’t focus on watering the seeds of faith with His truth.

Even now, after all the years I’ve walked with Christ, learning of His ways, studying His word, I must examine moment by moment the fruit that is being produced in my life. If I allow resentment, distrust, or insult to take root, they will choke out what I desire greatly, my peace of heart and joyful spirit. I also find as I am walking with Jesus, folks who don’t know Him personally or only occasionally speak at Him, try to teach me what they know of God.

And just like my cousin who hadn’t experienced life on the farm, relying on the words of his mother, who also hadn’t, they don’t have a grasp of what they speak. But the fruit produced in their lives gives evidence of what they do know. The spiritual crops of fallen man are ripe unto harvest, deception, seduction, envy, hate, insult, jealousy, self-absorbed pride, self-loathing, and the list goes on.

I am taught by my Heavenly Father not to lean on my own understanding about things, so I look to Him and trust that the crop He has planted in my life will produce the righteousness He desires. In The Old Testament of the Bible, in the book of Hosea, chapter 10, there is a verse my father often quoted: Sow righteousness for yourselves, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek The Lord, until He comes and showers His righteousness on you. Then, he would ask, What’s growing in your field?