As I crested the rise in the road, the low rolling hills stretched out before me; time seemed to turn its hands back to the 1700’s as I slowed for the rhythmic sound of horse hooves and whir of buggy wheels against the pavement. Numerous tidy farms dotted the hillside creating a panorama of beauty. Dressed in bonnets and cloaks to shield from the rainy, cool weather; Amish ladies readied their gardens for planting, young children headed to the barn with buckets or rode bikes along the roadway.
Sharing the road with buggies and biking Amish children is nothing new in Amish country. People have come to expect a slower pace of life when they reach their destination in Holmes County.
Not knowing much at all about the Amish people, I delved a little into their beliefs with the help of the textbook, Mystery of History Vol. III written by Linda Lacour Hobar. Linda states that although the Amish would say their main text was the Bible, the Ordnung is a set of unwritten rules that provide the basis for Amish customs and practices. She goes on to give an intriguing look at their simple lifestyle. As outsiders looking in we will probably never fully understand the whys and wherefores of their beliefs.
As I slowed my vehicle to accommodate the other type of traffic on the road, my thoughts became pensive. I saw the hallmarks of the people as soon as I arrived. The flapping laundry, the corn shocks stacked up in a teepee-style, the dark cloaks and bonnets of the women, the wide brimmed hats and suspenders of the men and the numerous families traveling together behind a horse drawn buggy.
When people arrive in my life, can they tell what kind of person I am? Do I have a distinctive that clearly shows that I serve the Lord God? Are my characteristics showing my belief in a sovereign God? I wondered what I could say was the foundation of my belief. What provides the basis for my way of life?
Then I recalled what Jesus said in Matthew 22:37-40, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
Loving God and loving others is to be the foundation of our life. It is our distinctive. In John 13:35 Jesus states, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” We could bring up doctrine after doctrine that we believe in and hold to, but the foundation of it all is to be love. Peter addresses this issue in 1 Peter 4:8 “Above all things have fervent charity {love}…”
Are we loving God with everything we have? Is our life filled with a love for God that governs every aspect of our life? Do we show love to others in the way we act toward them and the choices we make? When someone wrongs us can we still act with a God-filled heart of love toward them?
When our foundation is loving God with our whole heart, soul, and mind the rest of our beliefs will align themselves aright. The decisions we make will be governed by the love we have for God. This will be the lens that we will view His commands through.
As I proceeded by the slow-moving Amish buggy and its “bonneted” occupants, I determined to live with arms wide open with love for my God and for others.
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