Once Upon a Time there was a Farmer who was the most kind and caring man in all of the land. This farmer had always wanted children but he and his wife struggled for many years trying... with much heart break... Finally they were able to conceive and the Farmer's Wife gave birth to a beautiful little girl. The Farmer loved, valued and treasured her more than anything in the world.
As she grew up he took her everywhere with him- teaching her not only how to farm, but how to be a kind, generous and caring young lady. She loved her father; she knew that she was the apple of his eye... likewise she hung on his every word. She looked up to him with stars in her eyes, as if he was the only person that existed. The Farmer could not have asked for a better little girl; she brought him such joy! Their relationship was the most beautiful in the land and all of the village people could see it.
During the Farmer's Daughter's formative years, there was another little girl in the village who also was well known, but not for being good... She was a very wicked and evil little girl- always getting into trouble. She had the vilest of mouths, she would steal from the village shop owners, gossip about everyone behind their backs and bully the other children. She hated The Farmer and the Farmer's Daughter; she despised everything about them because they were good, kind and giving- all the things that she was not. The Farmer instructed his Daughter to stay away from the Village Girl, knowing that she would be a bad influence on his Daughter who remained untouched by those wicked, worldly ways.
As both girls grew into their teenage years, the Village Girl continued to get into more and more trouble, seeking wrong attentions from boys and then from grown men, creating an even worse reputation for herself. Meanwhile, the Farmer's Daughter carried on her life at the farm, loving her father, but secretly wishing she might receive, in some small way, similar attentions that the Village Girl had. The old adage "the grass is always greener in someone else's pasture..." is fitting here.
Many years before, The Farmer had been out hunting, and accidentally killed a Village Man. Everyone in the village knew it was an accident... except the Village Man's Son... he did not care if it was an accident or not and grew up hating The Farmer regardless- unable to let go of the thought of revenge. One day the Village Man's Son passed the Farmer's Daughter along the road and an insidious idea sprung upon him. At first he thought of taking a life for a life, but then, always one to look out for his own self-interest, realized that if he was caught, he would likely go to prison for the rest of his life. Being the charming and very cunning young man that he was, he saw quickly how to take the Daughter from The Farmer in the most painful of ways... he would woo her, spoil her innocence and turn her into everything that the Farmer hated. Thus, he found ways to sneak and meet with her. His words were as sweet as honey to her ears... no one had ever said the things to her like this young man did. She thought for sure that he loved her and that she loved him with all of her heart. When The Farmer found out that this young man had been seeing his Daughter behind his back, he easily saw through the lies and forbade his Daughter to ever see him again. But alas, it was too late; the Village Man's Son had his hooks in the heart of the Farmer's Daughter and convinced her to run away and marry him.
The Village Man's Son told her that she did not know anything of the world and that he would teach her all of the things that she had been missing out on while she had been sheltered by The Farmer. She believed him and was mesmerized and seduced by the life of self-fulfillment. The Farmer was heart broken at the loss of his precious Daughter who he had loved and cared for- who had been so special to him because she was his only child. He feared he would not be able to go on living; he feared for his wife as well, for they both felt helpless.
Months went by, when one spring day a man, who was passing through the village, happened upon The Farmer and asked if he might have a bed he could borrow for the night. Never one to turn a stranger away, The Farmer welcomed him into his home and The Farmer's Wife cooked a hearty meal for the weary Traveler. After dinner, the Traveler told the Farmer and his Wife that he had no money to repay them for their kindness, but that he did have a gift that he would like to share with them in the form of a story. That story was of Jesus Christ. The Farmer and his Wife had always thought they had been good people, but after their daughter leaving, they realized that somewhere they must gone terribly astray. It was as if a mirror had been turned on their hearts and they realized that they needed a Savior- that there were forces outside of their control that required dependence on a loving God to make things right. That night, they asked Jesus to come into their hearts and He began to heal the hole that the loss of the Daughter had left. Their lives were never the same after...
Shortly after the visit from the Traveler, The Farmer happened upon the wicked Village Girl that had once tormented his Daughter along with many of the other village children. She was, by now, a young lady and he found her sitting on the side of the road looking as if all life had been taken from her. Her hair was disheveled, her clothes were torn, she had bruises on her face... everything about her screamed that the wages of a selfish life had finally caught up with her. The Farmer took pity upon this dejected, worn lass, for he wondered if his own little girl were sitting in just such a state if he wouldn't want someone to take her under their wing as well.
The Village Girl was shocked at his offer to come home with him and his Wife, for, hadn't she always treated him and his family horribly? Didn't her reputation precede her? But she had reached rock bottom, and there was something in the kindness of his eyes that caused her to assent.
On the Farm, his Wife bandaged up the Village girl and fed her. They asked her to tell them how she had come to be in such a state, to which she shamefully and rather painfully did. Rather than be judgmental, they shared with her the same gift that the Traveler had given to them: the love of Jesus Christ and the Good News that Christ came to forgive her sins. Overcome with guilt, shame, joy and relief, she repented and The Farmer and his Wife asked her if she would join their family. They took her in as their own, loved her and gave her a brand new life. They never once brought up her past, but rather, treated her, from that day forward, as if she had always been pure and holy, and part of their family. Without The Farmer and his Wife, she would have been nothing, remaining alone and beaten down. She was very grateful for everything that they had done for her- allowing her to come into their lives.
They grew together to be a very happy family- and make a very good life on the Farm. The Farmer and his Wife taught the Village Girl all of the things she never learned growing up and over time she became the lady that she was always meant to be. However, after hearing what the Farmer's Daughter had done, leaving her beloved new family, she hated the Farmer's Daughter in her heart. She couldn't imagine how one could do such a thing and hurt them so badly. The very thought of it made her angry because they had been so kind to her. So she made it her purpose when in the Village to constantly tell everyone just how evil and wicked the Farmer's Daughter was by leaving him to go with the sinful Village Man's Son.
Word of the Village Girl having been taken in to her family's life had spread to the Farmer's Daughter, along with all of the things she was saying about her. People related that the Village Girl went around telling everyone just how wicked and evil she was; that The Farmer loved her (the Village Girl) because she had been grateful and valued what he had done for her. She told everyone how she was the "New" Farmer's Daughter and the "new" Apple of his eye. The Village Girl thought that she was doing the right thing by standing up for The Farmer and his Wife, telling everyone what they had done for her. She thought that she was being loyal by proclaiming how good The Farmer was and how evil and to be hated, was anyone who could do such a thing to him.
Over the years, The Village girl married and had children; The Farmer and his Wife continued to love the Village Girl and her family... they considered them to be their very own children and grand children. The Farmer's Daughter however, continued in her life of sin and it consumed her. She too had children, but they grew up to be wicked and evil because it was the only way that they had ever known. The Farmer and his Wife eventually died after a long and fulfilled life; the Village Girl and her family were quite happy to inherit everything that The Farmer had and rightly so, for she and her family had been loyal and loved The Farmer, working along side him, caring for him and his Wife in their old age. The Farmer's Daughter and grandchildren received absolutely nothing- Why should they when they had turned their backs on The Farmer? The Farmer never reconciled with his beloved Daughter, and while he was very grateful that God had blessed him with a new family, there was regret, to his dying day, that his daughter was lost to him forever. The last thought before he took his final breath was of his beautiful little girl, and the amazing memories of them working the farm together... and some might say, he even died of a broken heart while recollecting these things.
The End.
Dang, that is really sad. So what do you say, we try again, and see how the story would develop if we changed one small part of it...
Let us go back to the Village Girl and her hearing the story of what happened to the Farmer's Daughter and how she left...
Only this time, her heart breaks for The Farmer, his Wife and the Farmer's Daughter as well. The only thing that she can think about is wanting to reconcile The Farmer with the Daughter; she realizes that their relationship was very special, more special even than her own because they had such an amazing past, and years of history, memories and love together- love that was far different than she could imagine. She felt that if she could only share the love of Jesus Christ with the Farmer's Daughter, then perhaps she would repent, leave her sinful life and come back to live with The Farmer, his Wife and herself- she wanted to have someone to share in the Farmer's love and life with! For after all, the farmer's daughter was his own flesh and blood and she cared about their relationship even more than her own because frankly she felt special that she had even been allowed into such a rare family after the many evil things she had done.
This strong desire to see The Farmer's heart made joyful again, by a reunion with his Daughter, drove the Village Girl to seek out the Farmer's Daughter- to write her letters, find her and speak with her. She did so, being very kind, giving and loving. Always reminding The Farmer's Daughter that she was The Farmers flesh and blood and that he still loved her even though she had turned her back on him. She also made a point to constantly remind the village people just how much The Farmer loved and missed his Daughter so that if she returned one day, they would welcome her with open arms. She would tell them how much he desired for his Daughter to come home and just how much she admired, respected, honored and revered the relationship that The Farmer and his Daughter once had.
After months of showing this love to the Farmer's Daughter one day she came to the Village Girl and asked her why she had been so kind? She wanted to be reconciled with her father but wondered if he would take her back after everything that she had done. She wanted to know if The Farmer could still love her. The Village Girl assured her that indeed, he wanted her back more than anything- that he loved her still and wanted to have her back in their home, together. But the Farmer's Daughter told the Village Girl that she felt dirty, and unworthy and that there was no way she could be made clean again. So the Village Girl told her that she too had felt that way when The Farmer first took her in, but that there was a way for her past to be made as if it had never happened. A way for her to be washed clean and that way was through the blood of Jesus- because he died for their sins. The Farmer's Daughter was overjoyed at this news. That through Jesus, she could be made clean in order that she might come to her father again. The Village Girl was ecstatic and overjoyed- she knew it was the love of Jesus that she had shared over and over again with the Farmer's Daughter, reminding her that she was his true flesh and blood and that they were called to reconcile together, had brought them to this moment. The Farmer's Daughter repented then and there, asking Jesus to forgive her, make her new again and come into her heart. She was changed- and she felt it.
With excitement such as she had never felt before, the Village Girl brought the Farmer's Daughter home to see her father and mother. She watched in amazement, wonder and joy as the family was reunited once more- finally whole again, the way God intended it to be. She could see that without Jesus, she never would have been able to stay loyal to the family herself, and that she too would have, in the end, broken their hearts as well. She saw that the Farmer's Daughter had never had the truth of Jesus told to her either, and now that she had, she was able to come home.
The entire village had a large celebration at the return and salvation of the Farmer's Daughter! They all missed seeing the beautiful relationship between the Farmer and his Daughter and were all so grateful for the kindness that the Village Girl had shown, despite everything... kindness that cleared the path, while shinning a light upon it, that brought the Farmer's Daughter back into the family and their village fold.
The two girls because instant sisters, as if they had always been such, and now the Father's heart was overflowing because he had two daughters who loved him more than life itself. After a while, the sisters both married and had children, who all grew into godly, kind, caring adults themselves and the family was known through all the land for their generosity, selflessness and love. They were always mindful that they were to be the Farmer's representatives to everyone- that who they were was a reflection on who he was.
Over time, The Farmer and his Wife passed away, and the inheritance of the large farm passed equally to both daughters. The Village Girl was shocked at this, because she was not his rightful heir, she was not his flesh or blood and had no lawful right to inherit anything. The Farmer left a note for the daughters... to the Village Girl he simply said "I loved you like you were my own, and accepted you as such, take what is now yours." And to his Daughter he said, "I never let you go, because I knew you were always mine, and that one day, you would come home." He ended with words for them both, "I have loved you with an everlasting love- Jesus Christ brought us all together- without him, our union would not be possible- go and tell the whole world."
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