On a morning walk while I was in Iowa recently, I passed a large, old, rustic barn that has been preserved along what has become a more modern, suburban road. The stark contrast of this farming structure in the midst of new construction homes made me think more deeply about barns and what they have to say to us as modern-day Christians.
Surprisingly, barns are mentioned several times in Scripture to represent different things.
The Lord will command the blessing upon you in your barns and in all that you undertake; he will bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you (Deuteronomy 28:8).
Barns are a sign of blessing from God. They store the bountiful harvests of plants that come from God’s creation, and they represent a thriving and established community, which God will give the Children of Israel in the Promised Land.
Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? (Matthew 6:26).
Jesus describes barns in his Sermon on the Mount as places that birds of the air have no need of because the heavenly Father takes care of them without the birds worrying about where their food will come from. Barns in this case are symbols of buildings that we fret over filling, when we should trust that God will keep us filled, even if our barns may not be full.
Then he said, “I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.”
In the parable of the rich fool, barns represent greed and amassing earthly wealth for our own personal gain. Jesus points out that we should store up treasures in heaven instead of riches here on earth. In the end, gifts of forgiveness, faith in Jesus and love for God and one another are more valuable than anything that can be stored in a barn, which will one day be destroyed.
Be on the lookout for barns on your travels this week, if you are able, and remember the lessons that can be learned from them for our walk with the Lord.
