Seeing is believing

My admittedly unusual sense of humour came to the surface when I heard that we were going to see a “demonstration farm.”  I immediately thought of a little farm toy-set I had when I was young, and of moving the animals and equipment around by picking them up and placing them in their new location.  So I asked Dr. Judson Pothuraju, one of CBM’s Field Staff who was travelling with me through India last week, what a “demonstration farm” was.  He said that it was about literally demonstrating new crops and new farming practices to farmers, and showing them how well the crops do as the season progresses, so that they are convinced  because they see it for themselves.  As he said, “seeing is believing.”

As he said that, I suddenly thought of the Church.  After all, isn’t the Church supposed to be a “demonstration” of God’s Kingdom?  In other words, when people see the Church, aren’t they supposed to “see and believe?” The truth of the Gospel is not discovered primarily through persuasive arguments (though those are important — Jesus came to save our minds too, not just our bodies/spirits), rather, it is seen in an embodied way of living.  Just as Old Testament Israel was meant to be a “demonstration of life 2.0,” the Church today is supposed to be that.

The reason the Demonstration Farm is  changing agricultural practices in that part of India is because farmers have seen the results.  The proof is in the pudding.  Seeing is  believing.

I am so glad that CBM can work alongside Lallaguda Baptist’s BLESS program, working in villages around Hyderabad, India, helping farmers like Ramachandrayya (left) see their lives change.  I saw it — and I believe!