Good news for the countryside column: The herd book

I’m old enough to remember the ritual of the pen and paper exercise of having to fill out the forms for the ‘department’ from the herd book. How things have changed with electronic recording - the Animal and Public Health Information System (better known as APHIS), all done online.

Our farm only had dairy cows, so apologies that I leave out sheep, or pigs, or alpacas! I have some happy memories, remembering looking over the herd book at the end of a year, a family tradition, as we recalled the ‘births, deaths and marriages’, if you like, of our herd: the new calves, or heifers bought in, but also the dear old cows who had to go after long years’ of service.

These were really dear old ‘friends’ by name - Dinky, Dandy, or Bluebell, who were not just cows, and not just milk machines, but maidens of the meadow! Their personalities and quirks were known and loved. When they fell sick, or old age meant they ‘went away’, we cried! On the other hand, the records pointed to new beginnings too: heifers in-calf who would bring new additions to the herd.

Looking back – and looking forward - is probably a fairly common practice, as we all stand at the end of an old year. Maybe looking back, we remember happy things, a good year on the farm, a family wedding, or a new baby. Or perhaps we recall painful things, like hospital stays, or ‘that’ diagnosis. Even worse, 2024 will go down in some of our ‘family records’ as the year that a dear loved one, or loved ones, have been taken from us. Looking forward we hope for better, or happier days.

Everyone knows that keeping the books right is vital for farming. It is amazing that God is a book keeper too, which may come as a surprise. One of my favourite passages of the Bible is Psalm 139:16, as it says “…all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be…” So comforting, in the good days, but in bad days too. All are in His book.

The Bible tells us about another book God keeps - the ‘Lamb’s Book of Life’. Clearly the Lamb here is ‘the Lamb of God’, His Son, Jesus. It’s essentially a register of all the names of those who will be in the heavenly city. The ones whom God calls His own – those of us who have trusted in Jesus as our saviour.

The picture here is taken from an ancient practice in every city where people left during the day and returned at night. You wouldn’t want strangers, or thieves getting in, so to enter the city you’d see the gatekeeper and give your name. If it was in the book, you got in, if not, you didn’t. If you were a stranger, you’d need a letter from someone important to vouch for you.

God has His perfect eternal city - heaven. Only those in His book, the ‘Lamb’s Book of Life’ can come in. Nothing evil, or no one who continually practices evil, can ever enter. God says in Revelation 21:27 that we need a new birth, a new and changed heart, to enter. We all need to ask - Is my name written in God’s ‘record-book’? As we begin a New Year, what could be more important to know than that – now, is your name written in its pages?

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Ian was brought up on a dairy farm near Limavady. He was a minister in Ballyroney and Drumlee congregations in south Down, and latterly Moneydig Presbyterian in County Londonderry. Due to a serious cancer diagnosis, Ian has had to retire from active ministry and now provides counselling and support to others with cancer.

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.