THE PARABLE OF THE OLD CHINESE FARMER

THE PARABLE OF THE OLD CHINESE FARMER

A favorite story of mine, ‘The Parable of the Old Chinese Farmer’, reminds me that many times what we think about the challenges and trials we face may be completely different than what we suppose.  It also reminds me why ‘faith’ is the first principle of the gospel.

The Parable of the Old Chinese Farmer

There was once an old Chinese Farmer.  He had one horse to plow his fields.  One day when he was out working in his field, the horse was startled by a snake.  The horse bolted and ran off into the woods.

The neighbors saw this and said to the farmer, “Oh my, what bad luck.  You have lost your only horse.  How will you ever be able to take care of your fields?”

Humbly, the old man replied, “Good luck, bad luck— only God knows for sure.”

A few days later the farmer’s horse found his way back home, and in tow was another, horse – a wild horse.

The neighbors saw this and said, “Oh my, what good luck.  Where you had lost your only horse and couldn't work your farm, now you have two horses!”

The farmer simply responded, “Good luck, bad luck— only God knows for sure.”

Sometime later the old farmer’s teenage son was cautiously riding with the wild horse, attempting to break him when the horse bucked and the son was thrown off.  He landed awkwardly and the boy broke his leg badly.

The neighbors saw this and said, “Oh my, what bad luck.  Your only son has broken his leg and won’t be able to help with all of your farm work – plowing, planting and bringing in the harvest.”

The farmer patiently smiled, tilted his head to the side and said, “Good luck, bad luck— only God knows for sure.”

A few weeks later the Royal Chinese Army came through the little farming town looking for fresh, strong recruits.  Generals had requested hundreds of young men to send to the front-line of a raging civil war.  But when they came to the old farmer’s house they passed over his son because of his broken leg.

When the neighbors heard about this they were astonished.  All of their sons had been sent into battle. They confronted the farmer and exclaimed, “Oh my, what good luck!  Because your son has a broken leg, he doesn’t have to go off to the war!”

The farmer humbly sighed within himself and whispered, “Good luck, bad luck— only God knows for sure.”

I love this story because it reminds me that we have a choice as to how we respond to all of the trials and injustices that are part of life’s journey.  That many times, good things can be bad, and bad things can be good, and that the only way to properly evaluate them is to trust in the Lord and in His plan for us, that better than anyone else (including ourselves) He knows what’s best for us – individually and collectively, big things and small (seemingly insignificant) things, as well as things we perceive as ‘blessings’ and/or ‘adversities’.  Also that happiness and peace come in different ways and not necessarily on our timetable.

Wm. Calvin Hughes, Lake Elsinore, CA - January 2015

IN REALITY, WE HAVE A LOT IN COMMON!

IN REALITY, WE HAVE A LOT IN COMMON!

It seems like we spend much of our time thinking about, talking about, highlighting and emphasizing our differences -- our individuality and our uniqueness. It runs the gamut - clothes, houses, cars, political views, jobs, race, wealth, friends, religious beliefs, parenting styles, size, hair color, backgrounds, origins, health choices, diets, entertainment, lifestyles, etc., etc., etc. We use these differences to make judgments, to determine from our (many times biased) perspective what's "right" or "wrong", "pleasant" or "appalling ", "acceptable" or "unacceptable." Sadly, focusing too much on our differences, and when left unchecked, can lead to contention, unhealthy pride, discrimination, and in its worst forms, cruelty, violence, destruction, confrontation or even war. 

One practical way we can minimize or eliminate the tendency to dwell on our differences is to intentionally practice thinking about the things we have in common. Surprisingly, there are a lot things we share alike. When we more fully grasp the idea that "we're all in the same boat", we will develop more empathy and understanding for our neighbors, we'll have more appreciation for others' uniqueness, we learn to value new perspectives, and can experience greater and more significant levels of love. We become more willing to serve each other, "bear one another's burdens", and help others through the ups and downs of mortality. Life becomes more of a 'community effort'. Together, working for the common good, we will accomplish real synergy in the world, blessing lives all around us - positively impacting one unique person at a time. When we do focus on "good commonalities" we are becoming more like the Savior. We also are humble to realize that we are nothing without Him or the Plan of Salvation. We realize that we are here to help Him do His work. We are less selfish, self-centered and egotistical. We are more focused on what really matters in the eternal scheme of things.

Here are some things that all of humanity have in common. Every person who has ever lived, or will ever live on planet Earth share these with every other person -

• We all chose God's plan in the pre-mortal life
• All get to experience God's plan - it's a perfect plan - both individually and collectively for the entirety of the human race
• We all fought in the War in Heaven and fought valiantly together on the same side, and on the side of Michael the Archangel
• All continue to fight in this war over the souls of men, a war that the Adversary is increasingly waging
• All supported the Plan of Salvation which included free agency for all and a Redeemer to atone for any and all sin
• We all agreed to be tested in mortality in order to receive a physical body and progress so that we could become more like our Heavenly Father
• All passed through a veil of forgetfulness, even the Son of God, disallowing any memory of who we really are, where we really came from and why we are here. Thus, allowing perfect agency, a perfect test and perfect judgment.
• All have been born with the Light of Christ (the natural ability to know the difference between right and wrong)
• We all have a desire for happiness and peace
• All have bodies made of earthly elements (dust to dust)
• All have earthly parents, a mortal father and mortal mother (the Savior had a mortal mother and an immortal Father - Heavenly Father)
• We all have Heavenly Parents - our Father and Mother in Heaven
• God loves us all, in spite of our faults, our mistakes, in spite of ourselves
• God wants every human soul to return to Him again
• God gave His only Begotten Son for all peoples of the world in every generation, in every land
• Every person will be resurrected with a perfect immortal body after death and live again because of the Savior's death, Atonement and resurrection,
• The Atonement reverses every negative effect that occurred or will yet occur resulting from the fall of Adam - it rights every wrong, it covers every sin, every pain, every act of unfairness, abuse, oppression, injustice, inequity, and more - it levels the playing field regardless of the consequences, the environment or the situation; everything affected through entropy will be reversed and made right again for every person who enters mortality
• All of us need forgiveness and God's grace
• We all breath the same air
• The sun shines and the rain falls without discrimination on us all
• We all have successes and disappointments, strengths and weaknesses, talents, expectations, discouragements, highs and lows, temptations, things we laugh about and things we cry about, hopes, fears, things we love and things we don't, struggle with relationships, we all make good decisions and not so good decisions - and experience the consequences of both
• All human beings walk by faith on the mortal side of the veil
• We all have frequent opportunities to serve others and make the world a better place to live

Somehow it's comforting to know that we have so many things in common with the rest of humanity. We're not alone in this mortal experience - we can lean on each other, support one another and encourage each other all along the way. It turns out that life is much more fair than we may have thought. Only a benevolent and gracious Creator could have made the test we call 'mortality' so perfectly perfect!

Someone I admire said it this way - "Some are tested by poor health, some by a body that is deformed or homely. Others are tested by handsome and healthy bodies; some by the passion of youth; others by the erosions of age. Some suffer disappointment in marriage, family problems; others live in poverty and obscurity. Some (perhaps this is the hardest test) find ease and luxury. All are part of the test, and there is more equality in this testing than sometimes we suspect."   - Boyd K. Packer, “The Choice,” Ensign, Nov. 1980, 20

What are some other things that come to mind that all of God's children have in common? I'd love to hear from you.

Wm. Calvin Hughes

Lake Elsinore, CA
January 20, 2015