THE WISDOM OF A SCOTTISH FARMER

By Michael K. Farrar, O.D.

© God’s Breath Publications

 

A pastor from the United States was invited to speak at a church in Scotland. He was excited and honored about his opportunity to preach in a foreign land and had always wanted to see the lush green hills of Scotland, the country of his ancestors.

 

He arrived anxious to soak in the history and sights of this marvelous country and gazed out the window of the small cottage that had been provided him during his visit. Such a gorgeous view lay before his eyes. A short walk along the country road seemed like a nice idea. Possibly he could visit with some of the native Scots.

 

About a mile down the road he came upon a weather beaten old man working in a field along the roadside. He sauntered up to the edge of the farmer’s land and shouted “Hello there!” The old man grunted in a somewhat friendly manner and continued on with his work. The pastor asked him how long he had lived on this farm. The old man stopped, forced a smile, and said that he had been born on this farm, just like his father before him.

 

The pastor continued asking questions about Scotland, with the farmer reluctantly supplying brief answers as he attempted to continue his work. Finally the farmer interrupted him, “Why all the questions?” The pastor explained that it was his first time to visit Scotland and he was enthralled with the countryside and people. “Are you a tourist?” asked the old man.  The pastor replied that he was a tourist of sorts, but that he had been invited to speak at the local church at the top of the hill for several meetings. The farmer said he knew of the church and had visited it several times. He thought it was a nice church, as churches go. Then a most strange comment came from the farmer’s mouth that surprised the pastor to no end. The crusty old Scottish farmer said…  

“Yeah, Christians are kinda like manure.” 

The pastor wasn’t sure what to say. Did this farmer have some deep seated hatred for Christians? What would cause this man to make such a derogatory statement? The pastor bravely, but cautiously, asked why would he say such a thing. The farmer responded confidently, “Well Christians really are a lot like manure. You see when manure is all piled high in one spot it can be very destructive, burning your plants and spoiling your ground. There’s just too much fertilizer concentrated all in one spot. If I understand the Bible, Christians, like manure, need to be spread out so that the best good can be done to the most area. If you gather Christians together all in one place and all they do is befriend each other, they aren’t doing what they’re supposed to do. I believe they’re supposed to fertilize the world, right? You can’t do that if all you do is stay inside your church building!”

 

The pastor was dumbstruck. Instantly he thought of Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:13, “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.” The next few verses came to mind and stabbed at his heart, “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” While the farmer’s analogy was pungent, it rang true of those who claimed to believe in Christ as their Savior, yet hid their witness within the walls of their church. It would be just like Jesus had said. You would be hiding the light of the gospel, which was meant to shine before men, if you didn’t do go beyond the walls of your Christian holy huddle.

 

Another verse jumped into his thoughts, the last words of Christ before He ascended to heaven in Matthew 28:19 and 20, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

 

This old Scottish farmer was wiser than he appeared. Convicted beyond words the pastor said good bye to the elderly man and walked slowly back to his cottage. He pondered the words of the old Scottish sage. How true his words were. How convicting scripture was that the Spirit had brought to his mind.

 

The pastor thought back to the church he was pastor of back in the states. Was he leading a church that was no more than a pile of Christians who gathered together to serve their own needs? They did support foreign missions financially but it had been many years since anyone from their church had personally gone abroad to serve or minister to anyone in need. During his time as pastor he couldn’t think of any significant outreach that the church had taken part in to minister to the community they lived in. These were troubling thoughts to entertain.

 

The pastor knew that God placed great importance on serving one another within a local fellowship of believers, but this Scottish farmer had placed a fly in his spiritual soup. He knew that Christ had established His church on the earth for His children to minister to one another, but also to bring others into His Kingdom and minister to their needs. The Holy Spirit weighed heavily upon him as he realized an important spiritual truth. While serving each other in a Christian fellowship is important, God intended this encouragement and service to build up the saints so that they could spread themselves out to bring others into the Kingdom of God. Unless those outside the church are ministered to and unless they are brought to faith in Him, any gathering of Christians will miss the intent of Christ’s purpose for His church.

 

The pastor felt a surge of spiritual strength, as he knew what he must talk about at this quaint Scottish church. He knew that when he returned home he would seek guidance from the Spirit in how best to communicate this new conviction that had been impressed upon his heart to his fellow elders and congregation. Christians needed to spread themselves out amongst the world so that it could be fertilized with the Word of God, the message of the cross and the only hope of salvation.

 

The pastor reached his humble abode, entered and knelt on the hard wooden floor to pray.

 

     He prayed as he had never prayed before.

 

Matthew 25:31 46 

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. ‘Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ ‘Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ ‘The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’ ‘Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ ‘They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’  ‘He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ ‘Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.’”