I Found Jesus in a Potato

Dennis’ cousin recently went on an agricultural tour of Ireland with her daughter’s school and posted a lot of pictures on Facebook. The above picture really stood out to me, but not on an agricultural level. The group had visited a potato farm and were each allowed to harvest a stalk of potatoes. At the top there was a small potato (the mother) and then attached to the root were several larger potatoes (babies). The farmer explained how the mother potato shrivels itself to feed the babies.

Knowing that Claire is a born-again believer, I was surprised that no one who commented on the picture mentioned the likeness of the potato story to Jesus. That is the VERY first thing I thought of. As Christians, our lifeline for sustainability and spiritual growth and nutrients is our connection to Jesus. If the root to the baby potatoes had been severed, there would be no potatoes to harvest. We can, and we do, try to nurture ourselves with what the world has to offer, but only a connected-to-the-vine relationship with Jesus will produce true fruit…love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

The second thought this picture evoked was why Jesus died for me. We all know it, say it with me, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16. God knew what He was doing, Jesus accepted the challenge and therefore, when we accept His sacrifice, our sins are forgiven and we have hope of eternity with Him. Jesus didn’t die of old age or of natural causes; no, He died an agonizing death…He shriveled Himself so that His children could thrive.