40 Faces, 40 Places: A Devotional JourneySample

Richard from Cambridgeshire

Sometimes whole-life discipleship looks like being known for your faith and honesty.

I work as an onion farmer, and God is present in many aspects of my work.

I’m always prayerfully looking for opportunities to point those I meet in the farming community to Jesus. When one farming friend’s mum died, he reached out to me for a conversation about heaven. Another farmer wanted a girlfriend, and I prayed for him at that very moment on his field and then, sometime later, had the privilege of praying for him when his prayer was answered – at his wedding! I’ve even used fusarium, a disease onions get, as an illustration, that farmers would understand our rotten state without Jesus.

I’m known to many as a Christian farmer in a national context. As a result, I have had the opportunity to reintroduce saying grace at the National Onion Conference after a genuine prayer hadn’t happened the previous year. My Christian faith has also opened business doors for me - because people trust my words.

I don’t have to pretend to be perfect. If they know I’m someone who struggles with the same things they do, the conversation is much more likely to be positive. I try to make all conversations a safe place, where people know they can trust me, a place for people to share and be honest.

Reflection

Often, once our friends and colleagues know we’re Christians, they’re not looking for perfection. They’re looking for a connection and a difference. Do they connect with us in a way that increases their interest? Do they see the difference Jesus makes? It’s a legitimate question for them to ask: are we better people than we would be without Jesus in our lives?

Other farmers relate to Richard and see a difference in him. He looks for opportunities to point people to Jesus, engaging in ways they’ll understand. When Nathan has the most difficult conversations with King David in 2 Samuel (calling him out on adultery), he opens with a farming story that David would very much relate to. If Nathan describes the wrong in David’s life with the story of a rich farmer and Richard describes the rotten state in all our lives with fusarium – what illustrations will resonate for those we meet today?

Prayer

Lord, help me be a good pointer: always look for opportunities to point people to You. Help me make all conversations safe places for them to meet You. Thank You that I don’t have to pretend to be perfect. May others see You at work in my life despite my faults. Help me find language and illustrations that will resonate with my friends, family, and colleagues.