Farmer JC

I went to a concert last Friday that featured a few Michigan folk artists - I loved it. I've been diving deeper into their music and kind of collecting anything I can. Anyways, they focus pretty heavily on working the land and appreciating the life it gives us. I think that we are such a consumerist society that we often forget that our sara lee bread comes from flour which at one point was grain that was growing in a field somewhere. We drive in our carbon emitting cars to the grocery store and pick up a loaf prepackaged for us. 

I'm reading through Isaiah. There is a verse that, in the NIV version, talks about the sash of faithfulness Christ wears around his waist. I was thinking about how faithfulness plays out in my life. I think that the first thing our head jumps to concerning faithfulness is adultery in romantic relationships, but I was considering my lack of faithfulness in so many other areas of my life. My friendships, my school work, my goals, my relationship with Christ. 

Okay so here is where my farming and faithfulness concepts have collided. In The Message, Isaiah 11 refers to this faithfulness is such a cool way:

Each morning He'll put on sturdy work clothes and boots and build righteousness and faithfulness in the land.

What an awesome metaphor. I think I'm a consumerist Christian! Its so easy for us to reap the benefits of Christianity and our faith, but what about "working the land"? Faithfulness isn't just some easy habit I can pick up from the grocery store. I need to plant the seed of faithfulness, nurture them, and help them to grow. When I think about it, I kind of laugh, because in order to grow in faithfulness and righteousness you must be faithful. Ironic, but thats the circle I've thought myself into. God made creation to grow and provide for us. I often forget that looking at His creation is a great way to see real examples of His Word. 

One last thing. A lyric from a Lansing musician:

my father he taught me how to sew, told me that the land could teach me how to grow