Oct
15
2014

Faith in a Cornfield

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It is not often that I see a Biblical truth lived out so precisely.
Lived out in such a way that the pages of the Bible come alive.
Especially when it is an Old Testament truth, I know that I have been given a gift.
The gift of being able to witness such a thing.

I went to my place, the place of farms, and cows, and open space, and plain people.
Plain people is what they call themselves.
It is a sweet truthful term.
They are a people who know so well what being in community is all about.

I visit this place when I need rejuvenation.
I visit this place when my soul needs to be still.
I visit this place when I need to see community lived out the way God intended.
I visit this place selfishly to somehow ground myself again to what is important.

I was driving the many back roads in no rush to get to my destination.
The same patchwork fields that were a lush green a few weeks ago were now brown.
The corn stalks that had been taller than me were now down to stubble near the ground.
The harvest had begun.

The vegetable stands that sprinkle the roadside, were selling pumpkins and gourds.
It is the last hurrah before the winter sets in.
It is the fruit of much labor.
Round bales of hay dotted the fields looking like a child’s obstacle course.

Each season has its beauty in this place.
I imagined the family sitting by the fire praising God for a good year.
Grateful for the winter months when the ground is asleep and work is a bit less.
There are still the animals to tend to, the milking to be done, the wash to be hung on lines.

On one back road I saw an odd sight out of the corner of my eye.
A blue bike standing upright in a cornfield.
It was an old-fashioned cruiser type bike; no speed bike in this place.
The blue bike had a square basket on the front.

I drove a few miles down the road.
About fifteen minutes later I had to drive back down that same road.
I slowed near the spot where I saw the bike.
And then I saw him.

A man with a wide brimmed straw hat, overalls and a plaid shirt was in the cornfield.
He was picking corn from the stubble that was near the ground.
He was inspecting the ears that he had in his hand.
I imagined that was why there was a basket on the front of his bike.

I didn’t know the story of the man in the field, but I know God’s story.
God made provision for people like this man in His Word.
An Old Testament truth in a cornfield.
The Bible came alive when I least expected it.

When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf do not go back to get it. Leave it for the alien, the fatherless, and the widow, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. When you beat the olives from your trees, do not go over the branches a second time. Leave what remains for the alien, the fatherless, and the widow. When you harvest the grapes in your vineyard, do not go over the vines again. Leave what remains for the alien, the fatherless, and the widow. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. That is why I command you to do this. (Deuteronomy 24:19-22)

I witnessed gleaning in a cornfield in Pennsylvania.
I watched the Biblical truth of leaving the edges of your field for the poor come alive.
I saw one provided for from the fields of another.
I saw charity, and compassion, and obedience to the Lord on a back road.

I smiled.
It warmed my heart.
This man was an older man who may have lived alone, or may have lived with his wife.
The circumstances did not matter; someone who loved the Lord was caring for him.

Isn’t that what our faith journey is all about?
It is not enough to know God’s word intellectually.
We must know it and live it out practically.
We must somehow get it from our head to our heart and then out through our hands.

Practical help.
Hands on compassion.
Lived out faith.
Real life obedience.

That is how people see Jesus.
People see Jesus in you and me.

John Wesley said it best: Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as you ever can.

Do good, not to glorify yourself. or save yourself, or get in good standing with God.
Do good because God is good and God has been so good to you.
Do good because you love the Lord Jesus desperately and want to follow His example.
Jesus always did good; He always put others first, He always pointed them to His Father.

So should we.
We need to live out our faith.
We need to put hands and feet and heart to what we believe.
We need to obey God’s Word.

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:12,13)

Who can you love in a practical way today in the name of Jesus?

 

Whispers of His Movement and Whispers in Verse books are now available in paperback and e-book!

http://www.whispersofhismovement.com/book/

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