Introducing Redeeming the Dirt

“So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the Glory of God.”
1 Corinthians 10:31

The primary message of this blog is as follows: Christians have a responsibility to bring glory to God in every area of life, including agriculture. Therefore, it is only fitting that I should start out by dedicating this blog to the Glory of God. My desire is that God will use my feeble, imperfect attempts of sharing His truths to spur other Born Again Farmers on to greater obedience to Him in their farming. If nothing else, I pray that he will use the work I put into this to help me be more faithful to redeem the dirt He has entrusted to me.

This blog is primarily written for the growing number of Christian families and individuals who are moving back to the land and trying to learn how to farm. This includes me. As the Lord works in our lives as Christians to sanctify our hearts I believe we begin to value the benefits that an agrarian lifestyle offers. The ability to work with our hands. The opportunity to work with and spend time with family. The bountiful harvest of healthy, fresh food. The reliability of providing directly for our needs in a fragile economy.

However, I believe there is also a danger in our agrarian journeys. If we do not realize that agriculture is a spiritual battlefield, and if we don’t purposely lay a biblical foundation for the way that we farm, then we will end up being unfruitful farmers. Agriculture is dominated today by those who deny God’s existence and reflect that belief in man-centered farming methods. They are the ones, unfortunately, who provide the majority of the resources we ignorant, Christian back-to-the-landers need so we can learn how to farm. If we don’t equip ourselves with a solid, Biblical, agricultural worldview through which to filter their information we will end up worshiping their idols.

I have begun a journey to develop a biblical, agricultural worldview by seeking to apply the principles of God’s Word in my farming. This is what I mean by ‘redeeming the dirt’. I am not a skilled writer, but I would like to share with the body of Christ some of the things I am learning from God that might be of benefit to others. My intent is not to pretend that I know all the answers, but instead to raise questions, look at scripture, share testimony, and provide practical examples of application. I am not as concerned with convincing you to adopt particular methods as I am with challenging you to adopt right, biblical thinking as the foundations of your farming methods.

Through a variety of posts over the next weeks and months I hope to consider some of the following questions:

-Does it matter how Christians farm?
-Why does God want us to farm?
-How does God teach us about farming?
-Can we trust God to make our farms succeed?
-What does God expect from Born Again farmers?
-What does God want our farms to look like?
-What type of farming methods glorify God?
-What does God want us to grow?
-How does God want us to market what we produce?

I would love feedback and hope to hear what God has taught some of you about redeeming your dirt. As we dedicate our farms to His Glory and learn more from him, I look forward to seeing the fruit that he produces from our faithfulness. To God be the Glory!