Recovering Heritage

This article is, first of all, about restoring our relationships with our fathers. I say fathers in the plural sense because, while we all have only one biological father, there are various other fatherly influences in our lives. For instance, God is also our Father -- our spiritual Father. There are also those fatherly influences indicated in the New Testament when Paul calls Timothy "my son." And there are always those mentoring influences (Galatians 6:6) where men of wisdom have led us to maturity. Certainly these mentors have also played a fatherly role in our lives. We ought to honor all these fathering relationships. And yet, recovering heritage is about more than just fathers.

While it is true that fathers are responsible for passing on their heritage, heritage is about more than the dynamics of this paternal relationship. A heritage is a tangible thing. It is either tangible in terms of the character displayed by the one receiving the heritage or it is tangible in some form of material inheritance. Sometimes it is even apparent in our beliefs. Beyond our genes and relationships, our character, reputation, inheritance, beliefs, and more can all be a part of our heritage.

When we talk about recovering our heritage, we are not just talking about restoring our relationship with our father and our family. We are also talking about recovering the original purpose God had in mind when he created our forefathers. It is an undeniable fact that bodies and brains are made distinct from one another and that some are more apt for some work than others. There is no shame in recognizing this distinction and no shame in using a tool well for the purpose for which it was crafted. In fact, there is a certain wisdom and satisfaction in using our minds and our bodies efficiently. This too is part of the heritage we should endeavor to recover.

There is a dynamic thread of aptitude running through our ancestry that is also woven into our bodies and sometimes, through stories, into our memories. Our forefathers found nobility in doing well what they were made to do best. In that activity, there was no comparison, only the merit earned as they became masters of their respective crafts. Whether they were builders or simple carpenters, their satisfaction came not so much from the money they earned as much as from the masterpieces and reputations they built.

Sometimes, these masterpieces were songs or stories or poems. At other times they were fields and flocks. And sometimes they were also boats and buildings, tools and trades, and any other craft man could put his hands to. But more than this, these masterpieces were the communities built around skills, around the pursuit of excellence, and around the exercise of integrity. The real masterpieces were not made of wood and stone, but of flesh and blood. They were relationships and communities of relationships whose corporate expressions of excellence and compassion reflected the excellence and compassion of God.

This is the heritage I am seeking to recover -- a comprehensive heritage that encompasses everything Jesus died to redeem. Whether it is honor or riches or talent, I want it all applied to the glory of God. This is the richest heritage -- that man might join nature in acclaiming the glory of God in every action, every word, and with every breath. This is the heritage that I claim -- that God is my Father, that He is glorious, and that reflecting His glory is the most suitable and honorable occupation for mankind and our most noble pursuit.

Michael Hennen

Trees

Trees are earthbound witnesses. They wear the scars of every storm, every fire, every drought, and every year of abundant rain. They also humbly wear the scars of men and animals as if they were trophies of grace.

Trees declare the warmth of every sunny day and the cold of every snow-swept winter. They display the colors of change for everyone to see, and herald, sometimes with bright flowers, the coming new life of spring.

They are silent witnesses, not casting judgment, but unafraid to declare what they cannot deny. Their roots are familiar with ancient things. Their limbs and leaves ring with the laughs of children, the kisses of lovers, and with the sobs of old men.

Though they never raise in protest a voice that men can hear, when cut down, they continue to witness faithfully and loudly both to the skill and to the finiteness of mankind.

We sit on them, write on them, sleep on them, put volumes of our knowledge on them, and seek shelter under them. Trees are without prejudice, friends to every man. There is not one of them that will raise itself in war against him or against his neighbor.

When burned, they testify to the warmth of their Maker. When formed and fashioned by the hands of men, they testify with a sweet fragrance to God's strength and beauty. By their fruit the savor of God's love for mankind is unmistakable. When barren, the earth beside them mourns.

If you see a tree as a witness of God's glory whose voice can reach beyond your own generation, or even beyond that of your children's children, you will not hasten to cut it down except in the most dire or noble of pursuits.

Trees, planted to declare the glory of heaven to men, are earthbound witnesses of our compassion, of our faith, of our steadfastness, and also of our cruelty. Perhaps that is why God chose to display His love on a tree, so that we would never forget the beauty of His steadfast love or our desperate need for His redemption.

Michael Hennen

Rediscovering Lost Knowledge

In the last 150 years, our country has experienced an extraordinary loss of knowledge. While we think these days that we are far ahead of our predecessors in scientific and technological information, the fact is that when it comes to taking care of ourselves we have become as dependent as newborn babes are for their diaper change.

As part of our homeschooling last year, I read a book with my daughter called "Diary of an Early American Boy". It is about a 15 year old young man named Noah Blake and it chronicles his life in the year 1805. Here is a young person who knew how to build a house and a barn, plow a field, build a bridge, construct a mill with a pond, clear the forest, and that was just to set up the homestead! He knew about moon phases, how to grow food for his family, and how to make nails at a forge. This appears to have been common knowledge among farmers and settlers in the past. 

Then we also read the delightful story by Laura Ingalls Wilder called "Farmer Boy". Although I think she rolled all of Almanzo's life on the farm experiences into one book covering one year of his youth, it is still an amazing picture of know-how and industriousness that makes our present-day young people look pretty useless.

We have lost so much knowledge that I wonder if we can recover it in this generation. I am thankful for the books that are available about the many aspects of gardening and farm life, but it would be great to have more practitioners in the flesh nearby who could show the way.

Years ago I lived in the country on 8 acres. My neighbors were an elderly couple who had cleared the land I then lived on. The pear tree she had planted 50 years before was still bearing fruit in my yard. I would go visit her regularly and watch everything she did. If she was digging in her garden, I would pay close attention and try to copy her activities in my own garden. She probably had forgotten more than I would ever know about raising food on that plot of land in Louisiana. I learned so much from her.

I am now passing on my knowledge to my daughter. We garden together, we learn about being productive together. The next generation needs to know how to be producers and not consumers. It is satisfying to be able to grow your own food and make your own clothes. The knowledge of past generations is our national heritage. Let's rediscover the many treasures of know-how and common sense living that have been handed down to us, and let's leave this heritage to our children.