I have been wanting to get this in a writing for some time now. I have shared aspects of this given story on some forums for counsel to others, and it is nice to finally put it all together in a single piece. I think you may really enjoy this one:
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Throughout the Bible, we find our spirits symbolized as growing plants in many ways, especially in the New Testament gospels Jesus shared with us. One of my most favorite parables is the Parable of the Sower in Mark 4:3-8:
 
3 "Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed.
4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.
5 Some fell on rocky places, whe! re it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow.
6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.
7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain.
8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times."
 
Or the Parable of the Growing Seed in Mark 4:26-29:
 
26 He also said, "This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground.
27 Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how.
28 All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, ! then the full kernel in the head.
29As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come."
 
And the Parable of the Mustard Seed in Mark 30-32:
 
30 Again he said, "What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it?
31 It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground.
32 Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade."
 
And we know that in the harvest, He reaps His crop in the end, thereby separating the wheat from the chaff.
With that said, I’ll now share my symbolic story:
 
The Farmer
 
When a seed is planted in a garden or a field, certain conditions must be just right for the seed to crack and begin to take root. The soil must first be moistened in a moderate temperature. The nutrients in the soil then determines the growth and longevity of the newborn plant.
 
In contrast to a pre-born seed, we are all born with a pre-born spirit, lying dormant in wait within dark and dirty soil. Our hardened shell of sin, especially pride and worldy interests, keeps our roots from reaching out into the soil around us. Therefore, as long as we are bound within our shells, we remain blind to the true light and reality of the world we rest in. In the meantime, we await the right conditions to break free of our shell, to perhaps becomes rooted in the firmament of true understanding.
 
But like any seed, the conditions must be just right for this to begin. The soil must become warm and moistened in order to soften our shells. And the Lord, being the perfect Farmer that He is, carefully prepares our environment as He ever so patiently awaits for our growth to begin. And in order to obtain success, He often must allow the ground to first come hard and unbearable to the seed. As we continue along in a life of unrepentent sin, we feel our pre-born struggles increase over time. We are blind to many truths, and we are incredibly thirsty for understanding why we even exist in what appears to be a dry and lifeless field.
 
At one point in time, certain elements cause some of these many seeds to soften. Hard trials and tribulations will do this for those who have not become too hardened in the process. The soil begins to become warmer and wetter, and the resistance to our hardened bondage within becomes lesser and weaker. And fin! ally, an act of desperate repentance breaks our shells, as our roots begin to explore the new discovery of the awaiting soil around us. In the form of the Holy Spirit, the Farmer has successfully germinated His young seed. Even so, the struggle has only begun.
 
As our roots continue to branch out, we have a new hunger to shoot forth toward a warm and wonderful Light above. We find that our roots have given us the needed foundation to support our young and thriving stalks. All-the-while, the Farmer is pouring heavy amounts of water on the soil, as our newborn roots hungrily absorb what they can in the process.
 
Eventually, the young plant will break through the surface above, to then discover an astonishing new world of both light and life it had never known before. Feeling the warmth of the Son, the young plant begins to taste new food coming from the Sonlight, as it absorbs the rays and transforms it through the process ! of photosynthesis into it’s body. In fact, it will follow the Son from east to west, as the Son rises and sets each day. And soon, the plant will become strong enough to stand upright as it absorbs the incoming Light throughout the day. It is here the true growing time really begins. But again, the end is not yet.
 
At one point, the young plant suddenly becomes alarmed at a reduction of both water and Light. A foggy darkness has also settled onto the field. The plant begins to struggle for both the warmth and nourishing Light it had become so accustomed to not long beforehand. After we ourselves are reborn, and after we receive a heavy flooding of the Holy Spirit, we too reach a point where we can feel it is being reduced. A new fear arises in our new spirit. We even begin to question if we may have essentially lost the gift of salvation so graciously given to our wretched selves not long ago. But why does the Lord give us something so wonderful a! nd tasty, only to take it away? How many times I myself have asked this very question. And I too questioned whether I failed Him, and lost everything He had given me. Until He began to show me the true nature of His ways, ever so craftily embedded in every aspect of His physical creation we live in.
 
For any young plant to properly grow strong enough to one day bear a sweet and tasty fruit, it first must struggle to overcome the very elements in it’s environment which threatens to destroy it. The Farmers know that if He over-waters the young plant, He will essentially weaken it, or even kill it. He must apply the right amount of everything at precisely the right time, if He expects to reap a bountiful fruit in the harvest. Factors of wind, heat, cold, drought, flooding, beasts, and pestilence, are among a few the growing plant must work against to survive and grow strong. This is why a fruit grown in an open field will often taste much better than one w! hich has been pampered and nurtured in a greenhouse. The fruit in the field simply was able to become stronger, thus increasing it’s inner flavor.
 
It is the very same with our growing spirits, as we struggle against sin to grow into His righteousness. The world around us can certainly be very cold, amidst an erosion of truth in society. The heat of sin can cause us to burn with anger, envy, sorrow and frustration, as many invading beasts and pestilences threaten to breach our tender hides and invade our growing and tasty fruit. And if we allow these invaders to get very deep within, we will then feel our fruit begin rotting away. And oncoming floodwaters of apostacy may assuredly wash away the foundational firmament of our receieved understanding and sweep us into death. We may even reach the very point of desperation in which we began prior to shooting forth. And again, we find ourselves praying for more rainwaters of the Holy Spirit to continue onwa! rd, in order to get a better footing in the soil once again. And indeed, the Farmer will provide when He determines the proper time we are to receive it..
 
At one point, the plant matures enough to bud. It then begins expelling new seeds onto the field. And these seeds may lie dormant for awhile too, awaiting a time when they themsleves take root to continue the growing cycle. These are seeds of truth we plant in others as we pray for the needed rain to perhaps crack open their own shells at a later time. And basically, that’s all we can do.
 
As depicted in the parable, we find ourselves standing aside many weeds which threaten to rob us of nutrients and life. At times, the Farmer will come along and weed the field, but we always find new weeds sprouting up later, greedily trying to take away the nourishment He provides How we long for the possibility that these weeds can also become a growing fruit! Even so! , the Farmer has everything well under control, and He properly cares for His growing garden at all times. In the dying world around us lies a sea of sinners trying many ways to rob us of our inheritance, hope, and promise. Trying to turn us into weeds as well. And this all continues until the very end.
 
Then at last, harvest time arrives! The Farmer gazes across the ripened field with incredible joy and rejoice. He then grabs His sickle and proceeds to harvest the fruits of His mighty and suffering labor. He gathers up the fruit and begins to carry His bounty to His house. And as He selectively picks his crop from amongst the weeds, He will even take the younger, unripened fruit home as well. He fully knows that these will continue to ripen further, even if they are seperated from the parent salk which once carried the food and water before. Jesus will also take His newborn baby Christians home as well.
 
In the end, Je! sus will do the very same. Whether by mortal death, or by rapture, He will harvest His crop as promised. In fact, He often came to pick a few during the entire growing season. (Relative to only mortal death). But in the rapture, the Farmer will gather both the young and old, the sweet and the unripened, and leave the weeds and waste lying dead in the field. But even then, He awaits for any secondary fruits which may arise afterwards before the season ends entirely. He then will return at a later time for one final harvest. And after that, He has no use for whatever waste remains in the field.
 
Throughout the entire growing season, He had occasionally weeded His crop, and placed these dead weeds into a deep pit. At the every end of the season, He will add all the wasted and unwanted stalks and weeds to the heap. And in order to dispose of it properly, He has little choice but to set it afire. And Jesus will do the very same with the dead, unsaved souls ! who did not care enough about their lives and His labor to even ask to receive the very first rainfall. And after the fire is lit, the Farmer then return to His house to enjoy a very savory supper.....
 
The Marriage Supper of the Lamb.
 
May we all have a seat reserved for us at that event!
 
Written by:
Richard (Jim) Minch.
1-15-06