Faith of the Farmer

Posted by admin on Jul 11, 2011 in Blog | 0 comments

This is one of my favorite times of the year for a lot of reasons, chief among those reasons is a stop I make on the way home from church each week.  On our way home we head down Atsion Road to see the farm fields, woods and the lake but this time of year I veer off the left side of the road to stop in front of Dinky and Laura King’s farm stand.  I watch expectantly as the spring thaw begins and the fields are turned over and prepared for the seed and small plants.  It takes a lot of work and a lot of faith to be a farmer.

But for me the payoff is wonderful.  Today I slipped a $10 bill in the old army box and carried a plastic bag filled with blueberries, onions, yellow squash, zucchini, a few tomatoes and an onion.  Add a little Ohio beef from my in-law’s farm and I had a first class meal this afternoon.

There is a lot to learn from the rhythms and projects of farm life.  Jesus used the example of a farmer to teach about the way the Word of God is offered to the world and received by all those who hear it.

Jesus told parables to instruct people on the principles of the Kingdom of God.  Parables are stories that are fiction, but could have happened and feature a person rather than animals, plants or other inanimate objects (these are called fables).  The parables taught a lesson or principle about the way God created the world and how the different parts would coexist under God’s authority.  There are a lot of reasons why Rabbi’s in Jesus’ day used parables and why even today most people seem to learn a lesson better when a story is involved.  Jesus and his methods point out to us once again the desire of God is to be known.  God wants us to understand the world he has given as a gift and enjoy the fruits (and vegetables) thereof.

On Sunday we will examine the Parable of the Sower in Matthew 13.  I am looking forward to meeting with you in worship and also to another trip to my favorite roadside stand in the Pines.

Pastor Jim