You provide for the earth; You drench its furrows, you level it, soften it with showers, you bless its growth. - Psalm 65
Our ancestors lived close to the soil. They thought much about; it was their source of life. So it was natural when the psalmist came along that he would use imagery from the earth to praise God. As we enter another rainy season and by accounts so far it is a good one we too are conscious of our link with the soil. It is a fragile connection; if any element in the chain of cultivation is missing peace, land, seed, fertiliser or rain we will starve.
It is an image of wider implication. God does the drenching but we have to make the furrows. If we dont, the drenching will just run off into the river. To plough our furrow is the gift, the joy and the dignity of being alive. We can do something whatever it is and the media today makes us conscious of the huge variety of works that people do all over the world. Just to pause in Highfield and see people go about their daily work, to sense that each one has a purpose and is trying to plough his or her furrow just to observe, is to wonder and give thanks with the psalmist.
As each one tries to do what they can, he or she is not alone. God softens their work and blesses its growth. I did the planting, Apollos did the watering, but God made things grow (I Corinthians 3:6). It requires, of course, that we are conscious that we are not alone; that we actually work believing that these are just my efforts. What will happen to them, what crop will come out of it, I have no idea. (Each week I sit down to write these few words. I have no clue who reads them if anyone! I have certainly no idea if they help. But I try to do what I can. The rest is Gods business).
We would so love to see the fruit of our labours. We would like people to recognise us, build memorials to us in their minds. But this is all pride. It is not important that my life is full of achievements and honour. What is really important is that I get engaged in life where I am and try to live truthfully and honestly. When Jimmy Carter was inaugurated President of the US in 1977 he made his own the well known words of the prophet Micah: to act justly, to love tenderly and to walk humbly with your God (6:8). The rest is Gods business.
Post published in: Opinions