BIG TRACTORS

John 4:35 KJV

[35] Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.

 

My Grandfather Sanders died in 1964 never having owned a tractor, as far as I know.  In 1981, my grandfather Burtram passed not owning a tractor either.  I must clarify that Pawpaw B. did have a Firestone lawnmower that he made some plows for and called it his tractor.  I wish my grand dads could see some of the tractors today. They have come a long way since the International Cub, Poppin Johnny and the 8n Ford.  We have come from 15 or 20 horse power to well over 100.  Having tremendous horse power and four wheel drive with cabs and power steering, a/c, radios and gps, fields that used to take days to get ready for planting are ready in hours now.  Because of the greater power, much larger implements may be used to prepare the fields for crops.  I feel quite sure that there are tractors that can be operated remotely without a man even entering the field.

       If we were to compare this to the Christian working to evangelize the world, how do we make the analogy?  The developers of tractors have used every tool and opportunity to better their machine.  Even my grandfather, without financial resources used what little he had to make a tractor from a lawnmower.  As Christians we must realize that new developments in communication are not always our enemy.  We are called to communicate the Gospel.  If there is new technology that can help us get the Word out quicker we should use it.  At this very moment, I am typing this devotion on my cell phone.  I will push a few buttons and will send it to a whole group of people.  I will push another button from my computer and it will print.  A few more buttons pushed on our copier and it has one hundred copies made.  From our web site it may be read by as many people as will visit the website.  We do not have to always follow the technology; God could lead some of us to develop the technology to make our outreach more efficient.  The young man in Elisha’s school was broken because he lost the ax head.  Sometimes I think that we spend way too much time trying to chop down a tree with nothing but an ax handle.  We should long for the cutting edge.

        Technology may make things faster, easier and more efficient but may we always remember that the field is white unto harvest.  The field must be worked.  God left us in charge of the field.

The field is our responsibility as well as our opportunity.

 

 

Yours in Christ,

 

Brother Randy Burtram

 

   (Originally published July 7, 2019)