I Get Him

I get it how he did it.  The story of the guy who did it is found in the 12th chapter of Luke.  Actually, the guy may not have existed since he is the main character in a parable of Jesus, but then again, Jesus could well have run across him somewhere on his walking across the countryside.  He is the guy about whom the Scripture says, "The land of a rich man produced abundantly."  (Luke 12:16).  I can imagine him looking at the harvest while feeling the buttons on his robe popping with a chest swelled with pride.  "What should I do...I will do this, I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grains and goods.  (Luke 12:17-18).   

I really do get him.  It is easy to be that guy.  Over the last few days the hay was cut and baled.  At the end of the day yesterday a glance across the farm showed some fifty or so big round bales harvested.  Being a part of a crop that is produced from the earth has been a new experience for me since leaving the pulpit.  There is a special kind of fulfillment felt when the pecan crop is loaded an on the way to market, or some new calves are birthed in the pasture, or the hay bales stand in the field.  It is easy to fall into the trap of the guy in the parable and think about what I have done.  Of course, the key to the parable and as well as our living is found in that first verse which says, "The land of a rich man produced abundantly."   

The farmer of the parable had nothing to do with the inherent power of the land to produce abundantly.  Oh, he might tend it and care for it, but it is a gift of God as is the rain and sunshine.  Even the best farmer is a partner with the God of creation and without the Creator, the farmer produces nothing.  It was that way before I became a farmer.  When my labors were made evident with a check at the end of the month, it was still because of a partnership with the God of Creation who provided what I needed to live and feel fulfilled.  Regardless of what we do, it is what God does that counts the most.  It is not about us, but about Him and the partnership He through His grace enables us to share.