Rugged Pursuit
Withdraw to the Wilderness
Look to the Son
The more we keep our eyes on Jesus, the better we grow. Your desire and ability to face the Son is even more vital to your well-being than a sunflower’s desire and ability to face the sun.
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,
fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before Him He endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”
Hebrews 12:1-3
One summer, I visited a “Sunflower Maze” on the outskirts of rural Paris, Illinois. Folks living and working in this area of the country are not strangers to farmland and crops. No one can travel more than a mile without passing a cornfield. Farming is so common there that the beautiful rural landscape kind of gets taken for granted.
Just a mile and a half away from the sunflower maze was once a long-standing, popular fall attraction. It was called Pumpkin Works. It’s main claim-to-fame was corn mazes. This establishment had been an attraction open to the public since 1993. I remember going there every autumn all through my childhood and teenage years, as well as when I became an adult. Everyone I knew had been there, at least a few times.
Unfortunately, Pumpkin Works closed down following the end of the fall season in 2018. Since then, tourists visiting the area seem to have switched their focus off of corn, and are now giving their full attention to sunflowers instead. And for good reason! The sunflower maze at L&A Family Farms is quite the sight to see and it is sure to be a new annual tradition for the next generations of families to enjoy!
Spanning over 1,000 acres, there is much to see and do at L&A Family Farms, including nature trails, hayrides, summer camps, concessions, farm-fresh meat and produce, and, of course, the sunflower maze! The maze typically opens around the middle of July and closes after the last section blooms around the beginning of August. Out of all the offerings at the farm, what stood out to me most was just one detail I noticed at the sunflower maze: all the sunflowers were facing the same direction.
Heliotropism
To people more familiar with plants and how they grow, this may seem like a silly thing to be impressed by, but with very little knowledge of farming or gardening, this intrigued me. From what little I do know about plants, I assumed they followed the sun for photosynthesis purposes. Plants need sun to grow, obviously, and that was about where my knowledge ended. I wanted to know more about how and why this happens. I began doing a little research.
How?
Typically, it is the younger flowers that exhibit this kind of behavior. At a certain point of maturity, once the flower grows seeds, the weight of the flower head causes it to droop and face mostly east. I discovered a new term I had never heard of before: heliotropism. This is the term for a plant’s tendency to move toward sun. This is what I was witnessing at the maze. Sunflowers also have growth hormones, called auxin, that play a part in this shift by migrating to the shaded part of the flower, but I will leave the rest of the botany details for you to research on your own.
Why?
A sunflower has many reasons for this desire to face the sun. Perhaps the most important reason is so that they can be better noticed by pollinators. Since a sunflower plant has only one flower, it is crucial that it gets noticed by pollinating insects. It wants to be where it is being warmed by the sun, making it more attractive to passing pollinators, and presenting itself in a way that makes it most noticeable. The continued existence of sunflowers as individual plants, and as a species, depends on their capability to keep facing the sun.
Who Cares?
So, why should you care about this and how does it affect you? Well, the way you position yourself is important too. No, I’m not talking about getting a killer tan. Your desire and ability to face the Son is even more vital to your well-being than a sunflower’s desire and ability to face the sun.
Like the passage in Hebrews 12: 1-3 says, let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the perfect Son of God, who sits at His right hand. The more we keep our eyes on Jesus, the better we grow. We bask in His glorious light and are fueled by His presence. As we focus on Jesus, we begin to see the world through His eyes. As we start to become more and more like Him, people will take notice!
“Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”
Stay Focused
The auxin in the sunflower is like the sin in our lives. Darkness hates the light (John 3:20) and light cannot have fellowship with darkness (2 Corinthians 6:14). Push the sin back and remove all distractions so you can grow in Christ.
Sin will try to entangle you. Every day it will try to drag you down. However, Jesus came up against the ultimate opposition, yet endured. He gave His life for the forgiveness of your sins. Then He rose from the grave proclaiming power over death and sin. That same power resides in us as Christians and gives us perseverance as we press on towards the goals God has for our lives (Philippians 3:12-14)!
Consistently remind yourself of Hebrews 12:3 and what Christ has accomplished for you on the cross. Write it on a sticky note, tape it to your mirror, put it on your refrigerator. Whatever it takes to keep your eyes, and your mind, on Jesus.
Bloom
If you ever get the chance to visit the sunflower maze, let it be a reminder to you that, as beautiful as it may be, the Kingdom of God is even more spectacular than a field full of flowers could ever be!
This world is full of struggles, storms, and darkness. But if you can keep your eyes on the Son, you will bloom!
8.8.19
*L&A Family Farm’s Farm Store is open year-round for farm fresh eggs, grass-fed beef, vegetables, and more (selection and hours vary by season). For more information on their summer and fall events, products, or to order online, visit their website at www.lafamilyfarms.com.
Rugged Pursuit 
Great reminder to keep our primary focus on Jesus! I was also challenged by the fact the the sunflower eventually gets weighted down by seeds and can’t “move” its head anymore. By that point, it has already bourn fruit and doesn’t need pollinators. My take-away from that is going to be that I want to bear much spiritual fruit by planting seeds of the Gospel everywhere I turn, and continue to grow in spiritual maturity so That I can simply remain focused on the Son.
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