Good news for the countryside column: The multi-functioning arm

​My job takes me onto many farms around the Province, most of them dairy farms, where my role is to help ensure cows reach their potential for milk production, while also remaining in good health.

Over the past 15-20 years, there has been a notable change in the way cows are milked in Northern Ireland, with a growing proportion of herds now milked by robots. The main benefit with these automated milking systems is that they remove the need to have someone present in a milking parlour, 2-3 times per day, making time available to better manage the cows.

With the vast majority of automated systems, the cows themselves get to choose when they are to be milked. The prospect of being offered a feed of tasty concentrates when they are in the robot is also a great encouragement!

Milking robots utilise a vast range of different technologies, and there are many different designs of robotic milking machine on the market. However, the most important element is the robotic arm, which must perform a multitude of tasks. Normally undertaken by a human, these include locating the exact position of every teat, to attaching the milking cups, to disinfecting the teats, and cleaning the milking lines in preparation for the next cow. The robotic arm is truly multi-functioning.

In the Bible we read about another ‘multi-functioning arm’, which we, as Christians, can rely on – the arm of God. In Psalm 89:13 we read that God’s arms are strong and powerful, “Your arm is endowed with power; your hand is strong, your right hand exalted.” As the Almighty God, His arms are infinitely more powerful than our human minds can ever imagine, and with these strong arms He leads and protects us in our daily lives.

God’s arms are also loving arms. The prophet Isaiah likens God’s love for us to the love a shepherd has for his sheep, “He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart” (Isaiah 40:11). How comforting it is to know, that in every situation in life, God not only embraces us, but carries us through those situations.

But the best news of all is that God’s arms are also saving arms. Speaking to Moses from the burning bush, God promised the Israelites, “I will redeem you with an outstretched arm” (Exodus 6:6), and speaking through Isaiah, God made this promise to us as well, “The LORD will lay bare his holy arm in the sight of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God” (Isaiah 52:10).

We find this promise fulfilled for us through God’s only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. His arms that healed the sick, raised the dead to life, and embraced the little children, would ultimately be nailed to a wooden cross, so that He could bare the punishment for our sin.

With Palm Sunday tomorrow, and as we look forward to Easter, we have the perfect example of God’s multi-functioning arms, revealing His power, love and salvation through the death and resurrection of Jesus. By trusting in Him as your Lord and Saviour, you too can know His power, love and forgiveness for yourself. As the hymnwriter Fanny Crosby described it, you too can be “Safe in the Arms of Jesus.”

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Ronald Annett works for a local animal feed company and helps out on the family farm in the shadow of the Mourne Mountains. He is a member of Mourne Presbyterian Church in Kilkeel, County Down.

If you would like to talk to someone about any of the issues raised in this article, please email Rev Kenny Hanna, PCI’s Rural Chaplain at [email protected] or call him on 07938 488 372.