But Where are the Carpenters?

In today’s society, many, even among God’s professed people, shun manual labor yet they often admonish others to be like Jesus. Lets consider His example. Jesus was a carpenter for many years, working with His hands in His quiet country home, gaining a preparation for His earthly ministry. Later, He spent a few years as a teacher and healer. Yet many today professing to follow in His footsteps neglect the preparatory work necessary to be efficient in the vineyard. No one wants to do manual work, or as we say locally, no one wants to get their hands dirty. Do you really want to be like Jesus?

To truly be like Christ however, we must consider not only His example but His command at the beginning, before sin existed. He placed man in a garden and told him to dress and keep it - Adam a gardener! Note that this was not a punishment given as a result of sin, no, it was given as a blessing before sin. Also note that sin did not change God’s original plan, for even after sin man was still to engage in work by the sweat of his face. Many today refuse to engage in work that would make them sweat and so many diseases have been encouraged by the sedentary lifestyle aspired to by many. Country living goes contrary to such ambitions and often those who seek to carry their city mentality into country living find themselves frustrated at the prospect of having a wonderful country living life while at the same time fulfilling their desire for a life of ease. Gardening is a big part of country living and it takes work to establish a garden after God’s order. Are you willing to follow Christ if it means you have to labor and sweat?

The agrarian principles enunciated by Christ while on earth showed His thorough knowledge of plant and animal life. Even His Father, God, was described as a husbandman (John 15:1). We are also told that on the earth made new we would be building and planting. (Isaiah 65:21). Do you see how some people would not be happy if taken to heaven and then to the earth made new?

If things continue as they were from the beginning, then planting would be a normal part of our existence. For, even in the beginning the Lord God planted a garden (Genesis 2:8). Would you want to have a Heavenly Father who enjoys planting and plans for you to plant? Sure, it would not be the same as we do now to get things to grow but the anticipated joy found in planting should be in us even now. The irony of the whole situation is that man was formed from the dust of the earth by the hands of a loving Creator who did not mind putting His hands in the dust. (Genesis 2:7). Imagine not wanting to work with the very substance from which you are created! What a miseducation! The very activity designed to bring happiness and blessings, shun by man...

The Desire of Ages

Anyone reading on true education would encounter the principle of both the mental and the physical development being essential for a proper education. Not just the students in a true education school are taught in both areas but the teachers themselves by their example lead the students along this path of balanced mental development. The violation of this principle has contributed to the many one-sided, unbalanced and unhappy individuals that exist in society today. Many emerge from the schools of this world unfitted for service to God and have little understanding of higher education. “To gain the higher education means to follow this Word implicitly; it means to walk in the footsteps of Christ, to practice His virtues. It means to give up selfishness and to devote the life to the service of God. Higher education calls for something greater, something more divine, than the knowledge to be obtained merely from books. It means a personal, experimental knowledge of Christ; it means emancipation from ideas, from habits and practices, that have been gained in the school of the prince of darkness and which are opposed to loyalty to God. It means to overcome stubbornness, pride, selfishness, worldly ambition, and unbelief. It is the message of deliverance from sin.”—(White, E.G. 1Mind Character and Personality p.90.)

Can you see the difficulty faced by someone trying to teach country living without having any practical experience in the life? For, gardening is but one of the many manual, physical activities that one would find themselves engaged in, for there are many. This is why we were advised that the issue of country living should only be taught by men of experience. Having gone through the teething process of setting up a country living space in an urban driven world, one could now give practical advise to many who would want to attempt the same. The simplest advice would save many from great mistakes and expenditures. A simple but plain fact is that if one is not prepared to do manual work then a country property should not be bought. Since the government - sponsored
care, experienced in the cities, is not present in the country setting, so you would learn to lean more on your Heavenly Father for care. The folly of trying to establish a city life in the country would be plain to all who through experiential knowledge have experienced the joy of simple country living. In the rural setting the opportunity to be like Jesus becomes a reality, for Christ was for most of His life, a poor, simple carpenter who toiled daily.

Do you really want to be like Jesus? Poor, simple and hardworking? Yet rich in all the heavenly virtues a character could possess? Perfect in health and overflowing in love and sympathy for mankind? Is this your aspiration? Then country living is for you...as you toil you would recognize that the Lord will make you Kings and Queens in a troubled world. May this blessing be your experience.

Written by:

Nicole Belfast

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The Desire of Ages
To learn more about the life of Christ get a copy of the book desire of ages.