\”Farmers who wait for perfect weather never plant. If they watch every cloud, they never harvest. \”
Ecclesiastes 11:4
Are you a farmer? Although there are many who would answer yes, there are far more of us who enjoy the bounty we do not grow. Thus a farmers’ market —always a destination on a hot summer day—is something to anticipate. There really is nothing like homegrown produce to set the taste buds on fire. But as to what precedes that juicy tomato on my salad, no clue. I’m not even curious. It’s not my job, after all.
But even a cursory dive into Scripture makes it plain that, to an agrarian culture, farming metaphors made perfect sense. They still do, bringing to life concepts that should make us curious. Because at the end of the day we are all called to be farmers—farmers of souls. What does that mean, how does that look, and what can we do to learn the best techniques for the most robust crop? Read on!
Any endeavor begins at, well, the beginning. The field must be plowed to turn under weeds and old crops to decay and to put nutrients back into the soil. Furrowed trenches are dug as a template for the next step.
Soul farmers follow the same process. Instead of using a plow, they walk the land in prayer to soften hearts. Sinful beliefs and practices are left to decay, lifting to God a desire for preparation and change. A clear plan is laid out, step by step, to set the process on the proper course.
On a farm, seeds are sown into fertile soil and then watered. The moisture breaks down the seed coating so the embryo can absorb nutrients from the soil. Farm by farm, each family takes care of their own acreage from start to finish.
But farming souls is not a one-farmer process. The one who plowed may not be the one to sow the seeds. Others come along to plant by building relationships through service, Scripture, and teaching. Jesus shines his love into the mix, much as sunlight and water grow a field of grain. The hard shell of disbelief is opened to reveal the inner person who is able—and eager—to absorb everything about living a Christ-centered life.
A farm during harvest is a busy place, as crops are gathered in, stored, processed, and taken to market. This final step is active, not passive. Soul farmers understand that although much groundwork has been laid, the work must be brought to completion. Only then can those who are harvested become farmers themselves. And spread the Kingdom in another cycle of plow, sow, water, and harvest, until Jesus returns for the final harvest of his people at the end of the age.
The farm metaphor is not just a pretty picture of children in a field of sunflowers, cavorting through the fields on a bright, happy day. Farming is a 24/7, 365-day process —crops or souls. As Proverbs points out, the work will never get done if the farmer waits for clear, perfect weather. There are glorious days, to be sure, but not all of them.
This is so true in missions. Teams who enter a town, state, or nation to plow in prayer may not get a warm welcome. People and nations are not about change. Old attitudes, values, and beliefs are passed on from generation to generation. That’s bad news, in the context of change. But once a soul is claimed for Jesus, generations can come to saving grace in a lasting harvest.
Many teams have prayer walked with friends in a multitude of nations. One example is Nepal. Walking through Kathmandu includes passing ubiquitous statues, altars, and pagan worshippers. It doesn’t really look like anything is changing, as if the plow has lost its handle. Those who are prayer walking don’t routinely see statues fall, hear people ask about Jesus, feel the love flowing through the streets. Plowing is like that. It’s preparatory. Not celebratory. God never lets go of the plow or of those plowing.
Traveling through the Himalaya Mountains to a remote village church does not mean being greeted by hoards of Christ-followers. It’s more likely to include a young pastor and his wife, with perhaps a few others, who have given their lives to Jesus. The others have maybe adopted a hybrid practice of old and new beliefs. But because plowing has already been started, there are hearts open to seeding. As teams pray and serve, the love of Jesus is modeled. Scripture is read. The Holy Spirit envelops the place. There may not be a run on baptisms, but God’s Word will not return to him empty.
Then comes the trip where true change is evident. The young believer who was just starting out has matured and been harvested. He is now called to plow, sow, and water so that an even bigger harvest can be realized.
It is rare to witness the entire process from plowing to harvest. So many things get in the way for those who are not full-time missionaries. This is where we meet at the intersection of faith and hope. It’s not necessary to be everything to everyone. That’s God’s job. Our responsibility is to carry out whatever portion of the farming he calls us to accomplish, in the sure and certain knowledge that he is the CEO of personal and nation changing revival.
Don’t wait for perfect weather. Ignore the cloud cover. Go out onto your street, into your town, through the highways and byways of your state and country, and across oceans. Plow in prayer. Sow in the Word. Let the Living Water flow. And trust that there will be a harvest in God’s perfect timing.
We are, after all, called to be fishers of men. And to be farmers of souls. Amen.
