Good news for the countryside: The most relevant question

​If you speak to farmers about things that they find annoying there is a fair chance the requirement to fill in forms would get a mention. A few weeks ago, I noticed an article with the heading ‘DAERA launches 2025 Northern Ireland farm census’.

The article sought to make the case for farming engaging with the survey by stating “…the annual farm census is a vital tool in shaping agricultural policy and supporting our rural economy.” It also highlighted the introduction of a new digital platform,Blaise. The platform allows respondents to pause and resume the survey and provides the option to save or print a copy of their responses upon submission.

As I read further, I noted that technology for completing the survey was not only adapting and changing, there were also new questions contained in it. The article went on, “This year’s questionnaire also includes questions on cattle housing and the use of low emission slurry spreading (LESS) equipment.”

It is very obvious that the way farming is carried out today is very different from decades ago when I was working on the farm. Back then the main issue was ground condition and limitations were not imposed on the periods that slurry could be spread, or the methods employed. The questions on the farm census have been adapted over the years because of new legislation, and in the years ahead will most likely be amended further.

When we read the Bible, we find Jesus was asked questions on many occasions. According to one analysis, He was asked 307 questions during His ministry, answering 254 of them directly. Sometimes, motivated by their jealousy, Jesus’ enemies tried to trap Him with their questions. On other occasions His disciples displayed their lack of understanding by the questions they asked. These questions related to prayer and the nature of God’s Kingdom.

Jesus often used the questions asked by the crowds to teach something important regarding God’s plan of salvation. One of the best-known and most loved passages of Scripture is the parable of the Good Samaritan. Jesus shared this teaching (Luke 10:25-37) in response to a question from an expert in the law. We read, “On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. ‘Teacher,’ he asked, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’” In responding to this individual Jesus stressed that those who please God will love everyone equally – even their enemies.

In John chapter 3 we have another example of Jesus sharing a crucial teaching about salvation in response to another question. This time, the individual is named as Nicodemus. When Jesus told him that no person can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again Nicodemus asks, “‘How can a man be born again when he is old?’” (John 3:4) Jesus explained he was not speaking about a physical birth, but about being born again spiritually, by trusting in Him for the forgiveness for sins.

There is an old hymn that asks and answers the most relevant question for any person: ‘What can wash away my sin/Nothing but the blood of Jesus.’ While the questions on census forms may be amended and adapted over time, the greatest question of all has been answered by Jesus for all time. He declares, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the father except through me” (John 14:6).

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Having grown up in rural Tyrone, after leaving school at the age of 16, Knox worked for over 20 years on the family dairy farm near Aughnacloy. Having felt the call of God to full-time ministry, he was ordained in 2005 serving as minister of two Presbyterian congregations for 14 years. In 2019 he was called to be minister of Aghadowey and Crossgar Presbyterian Churches in County Londonderry.

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.