19th November 2019

Celebrity farmer Matthew Evans, a man who seems to be able to turn a weed into a watermelon, was asked recently by a radio interviewer if he had grown up with a “green thumb”. He replied that his parents were “brown thumbs”, the sort of people who can only grow a lemon tree. My heart sank within me. I am trying to grow a lemon tree. But for three seasons the thing has been lemonless and willfully defiant. How humbling. To look upon my thumb and see beige.

The Bible speaks of a Man who was extremely productive when it comes to growing things. He one day planted a small mustard seed, and my, how it is has grown, and continues to grow. Its branches hold birds, its leaves give shade, and the tree quietly dominates the garden. I’ve no doubt that the reason for its immense productivity is because He planted it with a “red thumb”.

In the Law of Moses (Leviticus 8:23), the priests were ordained to their role with an elaborate and fascinating ritual. Moses took some blood of the sacrifice and ‘put it on the lobe of Aaron’s right ear, and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot’ – a sign that the priest was now wholly dedicated to God. But also a prophecy to indicate how a later and greater Priest would one day plant his church and cause it to flourish.

DM 19^th November 2019