Austin Gohn: Promised Land Ecology

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It is a land the Lord your God cares for; the eyes of the Lord your God are continually on it from the beginning of the year to its end. Deuteronomy 11:12

“Promised Land Ecology” is marked by two things: abundance and dependence. First, abundance: There will be no scarcity there. There will be more than enough grain, wine, and oil (the staples of the Hebrew food pantry). There will be more than enough grass to fatten up your livestock. It’ll be a land flowing with milk and honey. You won’t need coupons. Second, dependence: This abundance, though, will not be because the Israelites learned more effective techniques to farm the land, sowing seeds and irrigating it, making use of new Canaanite technology. No, the land is abundant because it is dependent. We learn that God is the one creating the abundance—that God is the one gardening the land, ‘a land that the Lord your God cares for’ (11:12). If you’re the inhabitants of an ecology marked by abundance and dependence, your responsibility is obedience. Obedience is what it looks like to acknowledge that your abundance is dependent.”

Austin Gohn in his homily “Promised Land Ecology” at Trinity School for Ministry as recounted in their email to constituents dated 29 May 2019.

Notice the components of “Promised Land Ecology” and see how they reflect God’s kindness to His people: abundance, dependence, and obedience. God’s economy is abundant. The posture of His people is dependent. Grasping life in this ecology or economy requires obedience.

As I have arrived in Melbourne, Australia (pictured from my hotel window), on my eighth trip Down Under, I think what I love most about serving Aussie Christians is their hunger and passion for obedience. It comes into view as the narrow path that is the opposite of the latest techniques the world touts as the way to go. Why?

Our world is filled with a scarcity view of provision, an independence perspective linked to the role of people, and when those pieces come together, they form the basis for a mindset that reflects disobedience to God’s design. We have our work cut out for us to help people grasp “Promised Land Ecology” thinking.

I have my work cut out for me on this trip. God has opened doors to speak many times, in large groups, one-on-one meetings, workshops, and radio interviews settings. I pray He empowers me to help people grasp”Promised Land Ecology” so they flourish following God’s design for living, giving, serving and loving.