In September we begin to see the signs of autumn harvest throughout the city. Orange and yellow squash, red pomegranates and ripe apples make their annual appearance at our local farmer’s market. If you happen to drive through one of the many wine regions of Northern California, you can smell the sweet and pungent aromas of “crush” season’s inauguration. Despite the increasing mechanization of our society, the life-giving sources of God’s earth continue their cycles and seasons.
Jesus often used agricultural examples when teaching—in part because they related easily to the daily lives of his audiences, but perhaps also because farming is such an apt metaphor for the present reality of God’s kingdom.
“What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air perched in its branches.”
Eight years ago when we began ReIMAGINE we recognized that “farming” might be a more appropriate description for the work we were being called to than“building”–even though construction was a concept more familiar to us. Farming requires respect for the land and the forces of nature, weather and seasons. Farming is about nurturing soil, planting seeds and cultivating living things that have their own growing potential. And farming is about recognizing seasons.
