The Farmer and His Son

       One of my favorite stories I have heard is that of a farmer and his son.  They owned many acres for crops and some cattle.  The farmer told his son that in order to plant the crops in a straight line he should fix his eyes on something at the far end of the field.  After watching his son start out to plant, the farmer left to plant another field.  When the farmer came back for lunch he noticed the crops had not been planted in straight lines, but they were all over the place.  He asked his son why the lines were not straight and the son replied, “I don’t know Dad, I did exactly what you said; I fixed my eyes on something at the end of the field and followed in that direction.”  Not understanding what went wrong, the farmer questioned, “Well, what was it you chose to fix your eyes on Son?”  To which the son said, “The cow at the far end of the field!”

       Obviously if you were planting a field and fixed your eyes on a movable object, then it follows that your trajectory might move along with it.  So, big deal, who cares if the crops are crooked or not?  Well, (before no till days) if your crops weren’t straight, there would be a lot of wasted land plus it made it harder to work the land to keep the weeds down and help the soil absorb water thereby growing better.  Basically crooked lines meant reduced crops which meant less food or income. 

       We should learn from this farmer’s son.  If we keep our eyes fixed on a movable target then our lives will become messy and will not produce as much as they should.  Money comes and goes, glory fades, power corrupts, people change, morals degrade, success never satisfies, and pleasures are fleeting.  Only one person remains stable and strong.  He is our Lord, our Rock, and our High Tower*.  We need to keep our eyes on Him,** for He is the same yesterday, today and forever, (Heb. 13:8) and only He is reliable to fix our eyes upon.

 

*Ps. 18:2- The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. KJV

**Heb. 1b,2a- …let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. NIV  Is. 45:22

Matt. 14:28,29- Peter walks on the water to Jesus, but when his eyes get fixed on the storm he panics and  begins to sink.