It’s that time of year, fall calving season has started! We are anxiously waiting and watching for all the new babies to arrive. It’s an exciting time to see if the planned matings will bring heifers as hoped, and to see the much anticipated new life running and playing on the farm.
I sat in the pasture and watched a birth this week. I’ve seen it before many times but this time God spoke as I watched and anticipated the arrival. I haven’t written in a while. Life has been extremely busy since late spring and most weeks I’ve barely gotten the have to’s done. My “real” jobs have had to come first and even some of them have lacked due to just not enough time. So for Him to speak and say, “Write this” was long overdue!
I made myself sit in that pasture. I knew it could take a while for the cow to calve but I hoped the baby would come quickly and while I was there. The cow struggled and paced. Husband was in a back field planting and the gate was open. She made her way into that field at least twice looking for a place to give birth. That particular cow calved later that evening but I was able to witness a birth the next morning and that evening as well. My family joked about me sitting around watching and waiting, but I knew I had to watch while He was speaking.
That little calf has it made inside its mother’s womb. It is safe and warm. Food comes to the baby with no effort on its part. It’s snuggled and protected, all with no effort. That baby lives a carefree life before birth.
At birth, the calf passes through the birth canal and if it’s lucky, the cow lays down to calve. I have rarely seen that happen. Most I have seen, the calves are born and they drop to the ground while mom is standing. This can make for a very rude welcome to the world!!
Immediately the baby must take a breath. The cow licks the calf, removes any coverings from its face and tries to force those first breaths. Breath no longer comes without effort. The calf must do that for itself.
Movement wasn’t really needed before today. The calf in the womb has movement, but it doesn’t serve purpose like after birth. Now that the calf is on the ground, the cow continues to lick and nudge to coax the calf to standing and walking. All this happens quickly and within moments of birth. Vigorous and healthy calves are up and attempting to walk very quickly.
Nourishment and food used to come automatically for the calf. No effort made, the umbilical cord delivered everything the baby needed. Now, the calf must suck. The calf must locate the source and make the effort to get the milk or it will die.
Life is work. Life is hard.
With a voice that I haven’t heard in a few months, and a strong pronouncement that I have longed for, God spoke so clearly. Life before Christ is just like being in the womb. We go about our day and we don’t think, we don’t strive, we have no thought of eternity. We just go about our business living in the world as it is. Life before Christ has no spiritual effort.
But new life after accepting Christ doesn’t just happen. New Life in Him isn’t effortless. Life is work and life can be hard! We are to make effort and work for eternity. He wants us to search out our nourishment and He wants us to make the effort to read His Word. He wants us to fellowship with believers and make the effort to walk on our own and not just be carried about.
He wants us to live our new life!
A Christian life is work and that life can be hard, but there’s purpose and there’s meaning and in the end there is reward. Just like the first few days for that little newborn are hard. It has to learn to walk and follow mom. The calf learns to follow his mother’s voice and obey. It has to learn to nurse and get everything it needs for life.
We need to do the same! It’s time for us to get up and walk and follow His voice and get our spiritual nourishment. It’s time to get to work. We have new life! It’s time to use it! Jesus said in Matthew 9, “The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few. Pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into the harvest.” It’s time to go to work! It’s time to make the effort.
So get up friend! Feel the Father nudging you today to breathe, get on your feet, walk and find food with Him and from Him today! Let’s get out there and LIVE and new life!
