A Man and His Tractor

That's Alden Flanders, our oldest grandson, a boy of two who loves eating at Chick-fil-A (especially the one his daddy operates in Valley, Alabama) and who absolutely adores his big sister, Hazel. He's fond of Popsicles, Goldfish, and peach ice cream from Pearson Farms here in Middle Georgia.

He also loves cars and trucks. "Vroom, vroom" was one of the first things he learned to say, and he's always loved pushing his toy vehicles around, driving them on the floor or furniture or pretty much any surface available. At any given moment, he likely has a small collection in his hands or his pockets or stuffed somewhere nearby. So, I figured he would be a mechanic or a race car driver or something of the sort. Until . . .

Now, I think we've got a future farmer on our hands. I'm pretty sure I know the color scheme the next time his bedroom gets painted. It was love at first sight when the electric tractor and trailer showed up courtesy of his cousins who outgrew them. There's no telling how many hours he's already logged in the backyard.

Recently, he loaded some stuff in his trailer and hauled it to the front porch for his parents. And they say he wasn't too happy when they ran out of things needing to be transported. He stacks sticks in the trailer as well and, if there's nothing else to be hauled, he'll take a container filled with toy cars and trucks for a ride. Any excuse to crank up the old John Deere. If it's a pretty day and he's awake, there's a good chance Mr. Alden is on his tractor!

Here's what just completely fascinates me about the whole thing. Alden loves anything with wheels and especially his tractor. Another kid loves something completely different. Big sister Hazel was drawn to pretending to prepare and serve food and she loves music and dancing. Our oldest son, Miles, loved baseball, bicycles, and buffalo. His younger brother loved any sport, especially football. Both gravitated to the outdoors, and both enjoyed reading. I've known kids who were obsessed with animals and others who didn't care a thing about them. I saw a video recently of a kid from Minnesota who is completely hooked on Zamboni machines, the things they use to smooth the ice at hockey games. Dinosaurs, outer space, the ocean, you name it . . . some kid will be entranced by it.

All this variety in human beings, yet we're all created in the image of the one true God (Genesis 1:26,27). Not only do we have unique interests and obsessions, differing likes and dislikes, but we look, act, and talk different. We have different skills and abilities, as well. No two of us are exactly the same.

But "in the image of God He created them." That tells me two things. First, there's something much deeper that we all have in common than all those differences. In other words, there is some essence to human beings that transcends the differences between us. We each have a soul and an intrinsic worth for the simple reason that God fashioned us in His likeness. Those differences, then, pale in comparison to that which we share with one another. To see a human being, to meet another person - no matter who they are or what they look like - is to get a tiny glimpse of the awesomeness of God Himself.

The second thing this business of being created in God's image tells me is that while our differences don't ultimately matter, they are still important. How can that be? They don't matter in that God doesn't love the kid who likes tractors more than He loves the kid who is into dinosaurs, but those differences tell me that our God is a God of endless creativity and wonder. Rather than making cookie cutter people who are all the same, He seems to take delight in filling the world with diversity and uniqueness. And that makes sense to me. After all, wouldn't the God who created both the giraffe and the duck-billed platypus, also create people who design skyscrapers, others who love to figure skate, and even others who compose symphonies? Wouldn't that same God make farmers and lawyers and plumbers and homemakers and CEOs and tree surgeons?

I know this much. He made one little boy who loves his tractor. And, as you can see from the picture below, he also loves his snacks. It's hard to farm on an empty stomach, you know.