143 1432

The picture above was taken on Highway 25 late in the summer of 2023. It is a farm on the north side of the highway between Gallatin and I-65.

I enjoy meditating on the scene. If the words on the barn were not there, the picture would be just another dilapidated farm. It might tell the story of a once reasonably successful horticultural business that has fallen on hard times. Or it is now in the hands of an heir who is uninterested in an agricultural way of life. There could be other scenarios, but those two are the most likely to me.

The sign itself, in black and white, states the farm’s owner’s appeal to a culture that has gone mad in a desperate attempt to find fulfillment and acceptance in running what we used to call “the rat race.” A maze with no clear starting place and no exit.

I do have a problem with the sign. If I “get right with God,” will He leave my life looking like that farm, pastures untended, barn latterly falling in on itself, and in a state of abuse? It’s not the sign; it’s the state of the farm where the message is posted.

Allowing myself to react to the photo, I see the “poster” as a narrow-minded reciter of what he has been told the Bible says: He’s a self-justifying good ol’ boy who believes I’m right, you’re wrong. He is a conserver and protector of his church’s traditions. He is, for the most part, a practitioner of his Christian duties and responsibilities. When his failures are pointed out, he responds, “Everybody’s a sinner.” That is not a conviction but a disclaimer. He would call himself a “conservative,” but those “convictions” are based on his reasoning rather than God’s Revelation. He is a faithful reader of his Bible but seldom lets it read him. He looks forward to going to heaven more to be reunited with his loved ones than to stand in the presence of the One who loves him most.

There is another interpretation of that picture! It’s a much simpler message: The barn with God stands stronger and longer than the barn without God.

Now, to the title of this blog post, 134 1342.

I read that those numbers originated back in the 90s. So, I am about thirty years behind. Those numbers in that sequence are “numeronyms.” Numeronyms are a shorthand used to express love in texts or messaging apps. 143 translates, I love you. 1432, I love you too.

So maybe, when I get a big barn on the highway, I’ll put up a sign that says, “God, ‘143!’” and below, “Me,’1432′” and leave it at that.

If the barn is large enough, I could put, “You may feel like this farm looks like your life. God is offering to make your life new. Ask Him how.”

Please read Revelation 21:1-7. Here is a portion of the fifth verse in that chapter:

“Look, I am making everything new.”