- Series:Animals, Transcript English
John 15:1
“I AM the true vine, and My Father is the husbandman.”
The evolutionary story of man’s history tells us that it took man tens of thousands of years to figure out he could farm crops for himself. Yet, today we know that some termites, ants and ambrosia beetles actually cultivate food crops.
In the world’s oceans there are simpler approaches, called protofarming, among a few creatures. Protofarming is nothing more than where limpets and some damselfish graze on established algae. Now scientists have found an example of true farming among one species of damselfish. This fish feeds on a species of red alga that grows in a brown carpet. It protects it from other creatures looking for a salad. It also weeds its patch of any other algae, actually moving the interloping algae out of its patch. When a damselfish was removed from its patch, it was quickly devoured by other creatures and could not replace itself. A survey showed that the brown carpet alga only grows where there is a damselfish to tend it. It actually depends on the damselfish to survive.
Farming is not an invention of man, but a gift of God. It is clear that God gave the gift of farming to those creatures He wished to have this gift. God often compares Himself with a farmer in Scripture. Ultimately, He calls Himself a farmer, and Jesus Christ the vine, and believers in Christ the branches.
Prayer:
Thank You, Father, for grafting me into Your Son, Jesus Christ, so that I may know Your forgiveness. Amen.
Notes:
Science News, 8/12/06, p. 102, S. Milius, “Fish as Farmers.” Photo: Cocoa damselfish.
