(from Sunday's teaching on Mt. 13, btw)
farmers & scientific types tell us that soil good for growing crops (often called "loam") contains a mixture of
- clay (40%)
- sand (40%)
- silt (20%)
sand helps release moisture;
silt is the result of water or rock grinding out just about everything but the really fine flour-like particles of soil ("dust in the wind" - thank you, Kansas).
our lives likewise must retain (hold fast) certain things, release (turn loose) certain things, and mix in certain things.
what i see the Scripture telling us to hold fast to (retain) is:
- the Word (1 cor 15:2)
- our Hope (1 tim 6:12)
- His Name (rev 2:13)
- the early stuff (heb 6:1)
- every weight (heb 12:1)
- the sin (heb 12:1)
- it's all good (rom 8:28)
- He's making something out of us (1 pet 2:5)
chime in!
4 comments:
Organic matter is an important aspect to good soil also. Organic matter could be old dead plant parts, dead animals or manure. I see our trials and mistakes of the past being like organic matter. It does help us make better choices in the future and therfor we can become more healthy with this "organic matter" mixed in.
Knothead Ed
Having read hundreds of soils reports for civil engineering projects in the last 19 years of my career, I couldn't help but think of a couple of parallels myself:
It seems to me that the components of loose/tight/crushed soil also closely relate to our state of mind where we best can receive and be transformed by the Gospel.
We need to have an open mind and heart and be willing to absorb and receive the Good News and forgiveness that Christ offers us. However, we shouldn't be TOO open-minded (and thus be at risk of falling into traps of false doctrine, or "extras" that some folks tend to heap on top of the basic, simple truth; thus, some aspect of clay-like, "tight" soil (or mindedness) is required. All loose sands have no strength to build on, and all hard clays are too difficult to rework into a buildable state.
And silts? The alluvial or post-glacial tills that comprise tills come from huge mechanical geological activity (floods or glacial activity) which grind solid rock into the finest of particles. In our lives, we need this component of being ground down, or "brokenness" to arrive at a place where we realize that our self-sufficiency is of no value whatsoever, and that we are defective and do need Christ to be whole.
Enginerd Dave
dave & ed = well said!
Hey Scott~ Didn't know that you have a blog, added you to my blog list, so I can keep up to date with what's going on with you.
Blessings,Joann
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