FARMER JOHN

By Michael K. Farrar, O.D.

© God’s Breath Publications

 

John had grown up on his father’s farm and now it was all his responsibility. His father had recently passed away and the land needed the close oversight of someone of his caliber. John was well trained in which crops to plant, how to care for and harvest them. He was well versed in the skill of when to rotate each crop over the years to insure maximum production without draining the land of nutrients. The farm produced all sorts of fruits and vegetables that were sold to local food processing companies. John also ran several food stands along the highway that passed by the edge of his farm. One day John had a most unique experience while examining his fields. He was alone in the middle of a watermelon patch when he heard a voice.

 

“John, do you know who I am?”

 

John looked around but there was no one around in the large field.

Again the voice spoke.

 

“John, do you know who I am?”

 

“Are you God?”

 

“Yes John. I’m the Holy Spirit. You accepted Jesus last Sunday as your Savior and I need to speak with you about your new life in Christ.”

 

“WOW! I didn’t know you could hear God speak to you.”

 

“I speak to God’s children all the time but often they’re not listening. Even though I live within each of them, they are often too occupied with other things to hear my soft voice.”

 

“That’s a shame. I’m sure you have lots of important things to tell us.”

 

“Yes John I do. Right now I need to instruct you in how to deal with the sins in your life.”

 

“I thought when I accepted Jesus as my Savior I was forgiven for all my sins.”

 

“That’s absolutely true John. You are forgiven for all your sins and you are no longer under any penalty for them. But even though your sins are forgiven, you will continue to sin as a child of God. It is my ministry to reveal to you the sins that are present in your life so that you can confess and overcome their presence in your life. Your new life in Christ is more than just receiving forgiveness for sins; it also involves living in obedience to God’s Word. Your ongoing relationship with your Heavenly Father is dependent on the quality of life you lead as His servant.”

 

“So now I’ve got a bunch of rules to live by!”

 

“No John. God wants your love and worship. You demonstrate your love for your Heavenly Father when you live according to His Living Word. You will find as you live each day and every moment of your life under the guidance of God’s Holy Scripture that you will enjoy life to its fullest and find a peace that passes all forms of understanding. There is something about living the truth of God that brings both glory to God and great joy to those who live in such a fashion.”

 

“So how in the world am I going to live like that? I mean I’ve tried for years to stop doing those things I asked Jesus to forgive me for. I’m just as helpless now as I ever was.”

 

“No John. You’re not as helpless as you were in the past. You have me living within you now. I will provide you with the power to live the way you should.”

 

“WOW! That’s great! So where do we begin.”

 

“Well I thought it would be good if I would give you something visual to represent the sins we need to deal with right now. Are you willing?”

 

“Sure. What do you have in mind?”

 

“Do you see your truck over there in the middle of the field?”

 

“Yep, it broke down a year ago and it wasn’t worth fixing. I thought I would just leave it out there until it rusted away.”

 

“Well I thought I could use it to illustrate to you the sin in your life. If you go over and climb up on the side and look inside the large wooden bed, you will see all the sins you are currently struggling with.”

 

“You’re kidding.”

 

“No John. God’s Spirit never kids around.”

 

“Okay. Here goes. I’m kinda nervous about this ya know. Never faced my sins up close all at one time.”

 

John walks over to the old rusting truck, places his foot on the large rear tire, grabs the top of one of the wooden planks forming the side to the bed and peers over the edge into the back of the truck.

 

“That’s weird.”

 

“What John?”

 

“It’s full of watermelons.”

 

“Look closer John and ask God to show you those sins that you need to overcome.”

 

John bows his head and prays for God to show him any sin in his life that he needs to deal with. He looks again inside the back of the truck. The watermelons are still there, but gradually they appear to change. A tear forms in John’s eye as he looks with spiritual eyes at the vision that lies before him. There in the back of the truck lay the huge sins he knew were present in his life. Each watermelon represented an action, an attitude or a behavior that was not pleasing to his Heavenly Father. His emotions were mixed as he experiences this strange vision. He has a sense of comfort and relief that these horrible sins have already been forgiven, but he is also convicted that he is still allowing them to have power in his life. He feels God’s Spirit come ever so close to his heart and mind.

 

“How do you feel John?”

 

“I’m not sure. I feel a deep sense of gratitude that God has forgiven me of these sins, but at the same time I’m filled with disgust that I haven’t yet overcome these horrible habits that dishonor my Heavenly Father.”

 

“Together John we can make changes if you’re willing. I’ll provide the instruction and power. You provide the willingness for changes to take place and take action on the advice I give you through God’s Word. Will you submit to My instruction and guidance?

 

“Absolutely, I want to get rid of those watermelon-size sins. I know I’ll feel better and I for sure know it will bring glory and honor to God.”

 

Over the next few months John spends time each day studying his Bible, praying to God, attending a local church and intently listening to what the Holy Spirit had to say. Both God and John see great progress in his life as he deals with the habits and behaviors from his old life. One day John is out in the field standing by the old rusty truck.

 

“John, do you want to look in the truck again?”

 

“Well yes, but I’m kinda nervous. I think you’ve enabled me to overcome all those watermelon sins I saw last time, but I just can’t be sure.”

 

“John I can assure you that you have made great progress growing as a Christian. You have died to self in many ways these last few months. You have desired to know God in a more intimate way and have benefited greatly from bringing glory to God.”

 

“Yes. I haven’t felt this peaceful and fulfilled ever before. It brings a smile to my heart to know I’ve obeyed God and brought Him glory and honor as well as joy.”

 

“Yes this is true. But God wants to show you something in the back of the truck that will both challenge and convict you. When you look in the back of the truck you must remember that all your sins have been forgiven no matter how big or small and that God desires for you to continue in your efforts to grow in the image of Christ. Do you have the faith to accept what God has to show you?”

 

“Yes. I believe God has given me the faith that can enable me to handle anything He brings my way. I just have to rely on Him and I’ll be okay.”

 

“Climb up on the truck then John and view what lies ahead of you.”

 

John places his foot on the rear wheel of the old truck and grabs the wooden plank as he did several months ago. Cautiously and slowly he peeks over the edge of the side of the truck and looks down into the bed. There are no watermelons to be seen, but there is something else. John is puzzled at first by what lies before him. His first emotion is frustration and dread of what he must do now. Then he feels the Spirit fill up his heart, mind and soul and a smile grows on his face. There before him are not any huge green ripe watermelon-size sins, but the bed of the truck is covered with medium-sized cream-colored cantaloupes. As he views the fruit with his spiritual eyes he recognizes that these cantaloupes represent sins he was unaware of before. Now with new knowledge of scripture, conviction of the Holy Spirit within him and the experience of obedience to God’s Word under his belt he knows what he must do.

 

“So John what do you think?”

 

“Well at first I was a little overwhelmed and all. But the more I felt you in my heart, mind and soul, the more I realized that you were enabling me to see the details of sin in my life that I hadn’t been aware of before. You did out of love for me, desiring me to become more holy and obedient to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. My Heavenly Father wants me to conform to the image of His Son, Jesus Christ. If I don’t know of sins in my life I can’t move on and grow as a Christian. I know I will benefit from allowing you to work in my life to die to these sins and it will honor my Heavenly Father as well. Will you help me?”

 

“Absolutely John. That’s why I’m here. As you grow as a Christian you become more and more sensitive to areas of your life that are imperfect and not Christlike. These sins and imperfections rise to the surface and become more apparent to you. As you grow in your love for God, your desire to allow yourself to be conformed to Holy Scripture and the image of Jesus Christ increases. I should warn you. Once we get rid of those cantaloupes, we have peaches, lemons, strawberries and blueberries to work on as well.”

 

“I figured that. Let’s get it on with this killing of the old self. I want to be like Christ so much I could spit! Is that a sin?”

 

“No John, I would say in this instance it isn’t.”

 

1 John 1:5-10

“This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the Truth. But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar and His word has no place in our lives.”