Pushing The Lawn Mower

Dec. 30

Read: John 5:19-29

Pushing The Lawn Mower

“So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.” (v.19)

I love being able to do things with my son… to have him be a part of the things that I am doing. When my boy was a toddler, he would love to come out to the yard when he saw me running the lawnmower. He would toddle up to me and with a giant smile grab the handle and “push” the lawnmower around our yard. What would be a chore for many of us was to him a great treat. It was exciting to see the grass clippings shoot out from the side, and the noise of the mower engine was exciting to him. It seemed magical to the way the tall grass would “transform”and become short after having driven over it. As for me, I just loved seeing my boy working with me… it brought me great joy… and made cutting the lawn a real blessing.

As much as my son enjoyed this as a little child, I would never send him into the garage to grab the mower on his own. He did not have the power to pull the cord which would start the engine. He was not ready to lift the gas container and fill it with gas or to check the oil before we started. Even if he was able to do all of that, he could not navigate actually pushing the mower on his own… in fact… it would be dangerous for him to push the mower without me. For my son, it was simply a mater of looking out the window from our living room and listening for the sound of the mower to know it was time to come out and push!

Jesus in John 5 declares that he never grabs the mower on his own, and only grabs a hold of and pushes what he sees the Heavenly Father pushing. Jesus’ life and ministry was a life of looking our for what “Daddy” was doing and then coming out and joining him. Jesus did not go into the garage and try to start the mower on his own. He wasn’t deciding which day to mow, or what mower to use, or even where to start mowing… he was simply living a life of dependance on the Father and only doing what he saw the Father doing. (Obviously, I am mixing the example above with the ministry of Jesus to bring to life what a life of dependance looks like.)

This is the same life that Christ is calling US to participate in. Jesus is not asking us to go in the garage and try to pull on the pull cord. Jesus is not expecting us to get the engine started. Jesus is the one adding the fuel and the oil that will make the “machine” (the work of ministry) run smoothly. Jesus is deciding on the time and place that things will happen. Jesus is not asking us to maneuver the “machine” into position or to push our life and ministry on our own. No, Jesus is simply asking us to keep our eyes open, listen for the sound of the “motor” and when we see and hear our Heavenly Father and / or Big Brother Jesus pushing the “mower” that we run out to him and grab a hold and push with him! Jesus uses very similar imagery himself when he declares: “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:62) Life in the Kingdom of God does indeed have an element of grabbing hold of the handle and pushing!

Experiencing this sort of ministry and life is a lot like my son working with me to mow the lawn. The sights and sounds are invigorating. The “buzz” of God working fills our ears. The action of those things which need to be trimmed from this world and “shot out” like the “clippings” flying from the side of the mower thrills us. We see change and transformation. Looking back behind us, it is almost magical how what was once “unruly” and “disheveled” now looks tidy and in order like a freshly cut lawn after the mower has passed over it. This is the work that our Father calls us to. The harvest imagery that Jesus uses in John 4:34-38 comes back to mind - this is again a picture of wheat (like grass) having grown tall and ready for harvest and now the time has come for it to be “mowed” and brought back in… the Harvest and lawn mowing are like distant cousins! LOL.

For this upcoming year… even starting today… what if we committed to “doing nothing of our own accord” and only “grabbing a hold of what we see God already pushing”? What if we don’t touch anything that God doesn’t already have his hand in / on? Jesus was modeling for us what our life can and should look like. What a joy it is when, with childlike faith, we get to run out and “mow the lawn with Dad”! I know that it brings the Father great joy when his children rush out to work with him and be a part of what he is doing. It never gets old. I know this for a fact… because I still love it today when my boy comes and works with me! (Even if he is almost taller than me and growing up so fast… no longer a toddler.) “Whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise” is Jesus’ motto… as the children of God we do the work we see the Father doing. May that be our life in 2023. Here is to working with “Dad”. Love you guys. - JDP