If you are from our part of the world, you have probably heard the “There is More than Corn in Indiana” song on an Indiana Beach commercial. As corny as the song is (if you’ve heard it, you know what I mean), the song works because there this is a lot of corn here in Indiana in the summer!
Most of the readers of this blog are from Indiana, but now that I live in the country what I’ve learned about Indiana corn applies to disciples—wherever they come from.
I knew there were a variety of types of corn in Indiana. Sweet corn gets the most attention. It’s a favorite of many people, including me. Boiled or grilled, even microwaved, it is hard to beat when slathered in butter! The picture is of sweet corn I husked, boiled, and ate. I just bought another 1½ dozen ears from a friend’s produce stand today.
Most of the readers of this blog are from Indiana, but now that I live in the country what I’ve learned about Indiana corn applies to disciples—wherever they come from.
I knew there were a variety of types of corn in Indiana. Sweet corn gets the most attention. It’s a favorite of many people, including me. Boiled or grilled, even microwaved, it is hard to beat when slathered in butter! The picture is of sweet corn I husked, boiled, and ate. I just bought another 1½ dozen ears from a friend’s produce stand today.
Now that we live out in the country among the cornfields, I see the corn growing up close. I was starting to worry about a field that Cathy and I walk by about every day. The stalks looked great, but there were no ears growing on them! We were already eating delicious, sweet corn and this poor field hadn’t produced even a single kernel yet.
I thought a knew a little about corn, but I had a lot to learn! Sweet corn is harvested early in summer, but most of the corn grown In Indiana is called field corn or feed corn. Field corn appears much later and isn’t harvested until fall or even early winter.
Here's a picture of field corn I took on a walk by our house. You can see the ears are growing now!
I thought a knew a little about corn, but I had a lot to learn! Sweet corn is harvested early in summer, but most of the corn grown In Indiana is called field corn or feed corn. Field corn appears much later and isn’t harvested until fall or even early winter.
Here's a picture of field corn I took on a walk by our house. You can see the ears are growing now!
Sweet corn makes up only 1% of the corn grown in Indiana. Field corn makes up most of the rest. It becomes cornmeal, corn chips and corn syrup, but it’s primarily grown for animal feed. It is also used to “feed” vehicles in the form of ethanol.
What does all this have to do with discipleship? In my Bible reading this week, Jesus and the disciples are facing a crowd of hungry people. In Matthew 13, the disciples ask Jesus what they should do. Jesus tells them, “You feed them.”
Jesus would still have His disciples feed people who are hungry, and not just physically hungry. It hit me that some disciples are like sweet corn. They impact people with their visibility and even popularity. More people know about them, and I am very glad we have them! But they aren’t the kind of disciples most of us are. Many of us take more time to develop and, like field corn, most people don’t see the direct results of all the growing we've done.
So, whether you are sweet corn or field corn, you have an important role to play in helping Jesus feed a "hungry" world. (I also know some disciples who remind me more of our Indiana popcorn!)
What does all this have to do with discipleship? In my Bible reading this week, Jesus and the disciples are facing a crowd of hungry people. In Matthew 13, the disciples ask Jesus what they should do. Jesus tells them, “You feed them.”
Jesus would still have His disciples feed people who are hungry, and not just physically hungry. It hit me that some disciples are like sweet corn. They impact people with their visibility and even popularity. More people know about them, and I am very glad we have them! But they aren’t the kind of disciples most of us are. Many of us take more time to develop and, like field corn, most people don’t see the direct results of all the growing we've done.
So, whether you are sweet corn or field corn, you have an important role to play in helping Jesus feed a "hungry" world. (I also know some disciples who remind me more of our Indiana popcorn!)
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