The Famine

There was once a man who lived in the countryside of a certain region. Every day he rose to tend the field so he could eat. When the yield was good, he would take and sell a portion of his harvest and store the rest for the time when the yield was less plentiful. He came to rely on his skill as a farmer because he knew no others would do for him what he could do for himself.

Then one day, a great famine plagued the land. The soil did not yield. The rain did not come. The land dried up. The man tried with all his skill to revive his land. Nothing worked. Every crop failed. Before long, the storehouse emptied of all that had been gathered.

Then, he remembered there was a city in the distance. Maybe he would go there and find food to eat and work to be done. He began to make provision for the journey with what remained in his possession. As he prepared, doubts arose. He had only heard about the city, of its great king, of its great abundance. The stories of the great city told him that its citizens relied on each other for provision. The idea was foreign to him. Though he doubted, he pressed on. He had yet to understand, but he knew he had to discover what the city offered. The famine had roused in him to search for things that were not yet within the realm of his understanding.

His doubts accompanied him on his journey. After all, he had not seen the city and did not know this king or its people. All seemed uncertain, unexplored, and unfamiliar. Only had he known in his life the assurance of his own skill. Now, though there was a temptation to give in to his doubt, he sought a deeper assurance from something he did not know and had not seen. Never had he thought about the unseen, simply what he could see. But the man knew he would have to know the end of it.

The day came when he arrived at the city wall. The gates opened to him, yet he did not see anyone open the gates. All about were people busy attending to their tasks. If there was a famine in the land, it had not touched the city. His curiosity had grown during the journey. He wished to come and offer his skill that he might eat. He wished to know more about the city and its King. He thought, “Maybe I could meet the King and offer what I have to Him that He might give to me in return. After all, my skill is undeniable.”

The days passed and the man settled in to life in the city. Though his doubts remained, he wished to see the King, to be affirmed by Him as a skilled man. The day came and he heard the King was near. When he saw the face of the King, his countenance fell because he knew he could not measure.

Don’t we all, when we face God, find that we do not measure as we thought?