This summer I have been travelling, and on one of my trips, I ended up in Iowa, USA. This is one of the five main farming states in the USA: California, Iowa, Texas, Nebraska, and Minnesota. The farmland stretches for mile after mile; as far as the eye can see! We stayed on a farm, and in one of my jobs (apart from my initial reason for being there, which was to give a series of talks on the Bible), I helped ferry vehicles from the main farm site to the corn fields they were spraying. On another occasion, I sat in a 'Semi' (we would call it a forty-footer or an articulated lorry) on several trips from the corn bins to the depot where the corn was weighed, checked and then offloaded, waiting transport by freight train to various locations to be processed as either renewable fuel (ethanol) or animal feed. It was, for me, a good reminder that it takes hard work, the right weather and a lot of planning and logistics to earn money and make a living. The guys I talked to were very aware that a good year versus a bad one was often out of their hands. They were dependent on rainfall levels, how hot the growing season was, and many other factors. Mostly, it is out of their control. It's significant that people who work the land or are in high-risk occupations (mining, fishing, etc.) are often more aware of how fragile life is and are more down-to-earth.
These farmers can teach us a lot about how we should handle life. They don't get stressed about the things that wind the rest of us up. They take life day by day, and they accept that they are not ultimately in control.
These are good lessons for wise living. The Bible says, 'Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth,' Proverbs 27:1. We may not be able to control the events of life, but we can trust God for tomorrow.
One of the alarming traits of modern thinking is that we pretend that God does not exist, that we are in control of our own destiny and that just because we do not believe something, then it cannot be true.
Most people will have a rude awakening when they realise (sadly for many, it will be too late) that God is the creator and holds them accountable for how they live. Living on our own terms and ignoring the moral code in our hearts and in the Bible will ultimately condemn us. The worst part of this scenario will be when it dawns on us that God actually loved us, that He sent His Son, Jesus, to die for our sins and that we were constantly offered a relationship with Him. Salvation and forgiveness have been made freely available through the death, burial and resurrection of the God's Son, Jesus.
Daniel the prophet wrote about this attitude millennia ago 'Instead, you have exalted yourself against the Lord of the heavens … But you have not glorified the God who holds your life-breath in his hand and who controls the whole course of your life, Daniel 5:23 (CSB).
John, the disciple, wrote down a statement the Lord Jesus made - 'For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life,' John 3:16 (CSB).
The best advice for peace in this life and heaven in the next is to 'Repent and believe the good news,' and 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved'.
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