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“As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing.”
–– Matthew 13:22
With a grandfather who was a farmer, it was no surprise that our boys would go through a long tractor-on-the-brain phase, a phase that inflated into an obsession when my father-in-law pursued the venture of restoring two vintage tractors, a John Deere Poppin’ John and a Farmall H. The names of various models rolled off the boys’ tongues as easily as a Swiftie reciting Taylor’s concert playlist. Minneapolis Molines and Olivers, Allis Chalmers and Massey Fergusons, our playroom was soon overtaken by a variety of scaled die-cast models, and our driveway was ruled by a John Deere pedal tractor that remains nothing short of a family treasure. Oh, along with most parents we read Dr. Seuss and Goodnight Moon, but for a season of life the bedtime routine included a compulsory reading of a John Deere storybook.
Corny Cornpicker Finds a Home was a favorite. Johnny Tractor and Corny Cornpicker quickly became fast friends on the showroom floor of the John Deere dealership. However, when the time for harvest arrived, they were sold to different farmers, and Corny was off to discover his new life with Farmer Blue, but his excitement faded with the realization that Farmer Blue didn’t take care of his farm equipment, treating it harshly and leaving it outside, exposed to the brutal weather and the unforgiving elements. A couple of pages later we see Corny shivering in the cold and snow, its paint discolored and signs of rust emerging. Meanwhile, Johnny Tractor was looking all shiny and pristine in the comfort of a modern barn. I’ll leave the mystery of the story’s tidy ending to your further exploration, but the boys loved the book, and we loved the object lesson it provided for parents to hold over our kids’ heads whenever we spotted a toy left out in the yard. Don’t become Farmer Blue! I’ve since learned that strategy fails to produce a positive response when directed toward a spouse upon the discovery of a rake in the yard 😬.
Jesus warned us not to overvalue those things that moths and rust will inevitably consume, but that does not imply that we should ignore the stewardship and care of what we have, and that includes the faith we have inherited. Without intentional care, attention, and nurture, this treasure of faith gets a bit rusty, even to the point that the treasure begins to bear little resemblance to what was received in Christ. I read this week of a faith leader who is more inclined to refer to herself as a Christ follower rather than as a Christian, because Christian has become so corroded by strident political ideology, intolerance, and blame to the extent that much of what is promulgated in the name of Christ bears little resemblance to the person and character of Christ. One begins to wonder if folks using the name of Jesus to justify their ideology of enraged intolerance have neglected to read the gospels revealing the One who bore the name of Jesus?
Do we see the world through the eyes of Jesus, or do we see Jesus only through the lens of our flawed and biased worldview? “As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing.” It is hard to live a life reflective of Christ without learning, understanding, and daily wrestling with the story of Christ. There is too much resentment, blame, and exclusion permeating much of Christian witness today, and it seems increasingly disconnected from the story of Jesus revealed in the Gospels. You could call it Farmer Blue faith. Don’t become Farmer Blue! Don’t leave the treasure outside exposed to the elements where hearts become cold. Nurture the treasure. Learn the story. Live into the warm-hearted witness of Christ’s self-giving love.
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