AGRICULTURAL, Pt. 2

Paul continues this motif in his writings when he tells the Roman Christians that he will come to them in God’s timing because God is planning a great harvest in Rome, just as he has done in other places (Romans 1:13).  Paul encourages the church to not grow weary in their good work because in time they will reap a harvest (Galatians 6:9). Afterall, we reap in direct correlation and proportion to what we sow (Galatians 6:7-8).

In describing the work that he and Apollos nurtured in Corinth, he comments that it was he who planted the seed and Apollos who watered it, but it is ultimately God who makes it grow (1 Corinthians 3:6). This is an important theological passage because it teaches us how the church is founded and edified.

When comparing the Gentile Christians to the Jews (the chosen people of God), Paul uses the analogy of a tree with roots and many branches. Some of the branches have been cut off and have died, but others are growing. There are new shoots sprouting off the tree all the time, but they all depend on the same root. No branch is to feel superior to another branch (Romans 11:1-32).

John in his Revelation describes the ultimate rewards for the church as fruit that flows from the Tree of Life and provides eternal happiness for every believer. The source of its life comes from the throne of God and the Lamb who is Jesus Christ (Revelation 22:1-5).

This is a rudimentary overview of the agricultural motif as it is found in the New Testament. I could go on and on. I haven’t even touched on another aspect of the agricultural motif know as “animal husbandry.” Jesus calls himself the shepherd and we are the sheep of his pasture. He knows and loves the sheep and the sheep recognize is voice (John 10:11-5).  He tells his disciples that he is sending them out to preach and they will be like “sheep among wolves” (Matthew 10:16). On judgment day Jesus will separate us like a shepherd separates the sheep and the goats (Matthew 25:32-33). Jesus looks at the world and he sees them as a scattered flock, like “sheep without a shepherd” (Mark 6:34). These comparisons give us a deeper understanding of the nature of the church.

We could go on. However, let’s stop here and formulate some basic principles about the church that we have learned from the agricultural motif.

1. The church has some very hard work to do. Fields don’t plant themselves and the harvest doesn’t happen without some hard work. The church has been given the specific spiritual task of sowing, planting, and harvesting.
2. The church has the immense responsibility of preparing the soil, planting the seed, watering the plants, and harvesting the fruit at the appropriate time.
3. The church can only function when it is connected to Jesus. Without Him we can do nothing. When we take our focus away from Jesus we begin to wither and die.
4. The church must understand its relationship to Jesus and learn to recognize His voice. Ultimately, the church is charged with hearing and obeying Jesus.

We see that the agricultural motif teaches us something about the work of the church (what the church is created to do, points 1 and 2), and the nature of the church (what the church is created to be, points 3 and 4).

Next time we will look at the Organic/Familial motif found in Scripture.

Blessings,

Pastor ellis

Comments

[Bonnie Miller]

"Sowing in the morning, sowing seeds of kindness, sowing in th noontide and the dewy eves; Waiting for the harvest and the time of reaping, we shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves."...Too bad society seems to have become ignorant to the timeless symbolism of the old hymns....( just realized "ignore" is the root of ignorant.)