Bringing in the bales

As I write this, we have just round baled our final two fields of silage for this year.

It was a great day, perfect for baling the sweet-smelling grass. The sky was bright blue (so no risk of rain) and the sun shone strongly, with just a rustle of breeze to help the grass dry. Everywhere I looked, I saw farmers busy in the fields, either cutting silage, spreading lime, or, like us, bringing in the bales.

While we were waiting for the wrapper to arrive, I transported the bales to the top field, nearest the road. Leaving them close to the gate, would save time for my dad, who would bring them the short distance up the road later to where we would be storing them for winter.

Each bale I put on the bale lifter followed a similar pattern. I drove towards the bale, then reversed back to it, lifted it, and headed off in the opposite direction. It is something many of us have done countless times. However, it struck me (and it has taken me 30 years to realise this) that what I did with the bale helps us understand how Jesus wants us to respond to His good news, the gospel. I’ll let Jesus speak for Himself, “‘The time has come,’ he said. “‘The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!’” (Mark 1:15).

What did Jesus mean? Well, “God’s kingdom” is God’s rule. And God, simply because He is God, should be in charge of our lives. But, we have all rebelled against God’s rule: we want to live for ourselves, instead of living for God, who has made us and who loves us so deeply He has actually sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross so that our sinful rebellion can be forgiven.

So where does bringing in the bales come in? Well, just like I had to turn around in my tractor and take each bale in a new direction, Jesus tells us that we need to do this too. We need to “repent” of going our own way, give Jesus the steering wheel of our lives, and ask Him to help us live in His way and no longer go in our own wrong direction.

Bringing in the bales also helps us understand something else. When I put the bale onto the bale lifter, I wasn’t trusting in my strength to get the bale off the ground. My complete trust was in the hydraulics of the tractor to do the work.

Likewise, with us, we need to believe the good news – to put our faith, not in ourselves, but in Jesus alone. Trusting that through Jesus’ death on the cross, our sinful rebellion against God is forgiven, and that by Jesus’ rising from the dead, death has been beaten for us and we now enjoy God’s best and forever life.

I would encourage you to please give this serious thought, and to then respond to Jesus. When we do, whether we are bringing in the bales, or in any situation whatsoever, then we discover that with Jesus at the steering wheel of our lives, we have His strength and wisdom and encouragement - no matter how bumpy the journey may be at times.

Rev. Kenny Hanna is minister of Second Dromara Presbyterian Church and grew up on his family’s farm in the foothills of the Mountains of Mourne.

If you would like to talk to someone about this article, please email Rev. Kenny Hanna at [email protected] or call him on 028 9753 1234.