Consider what your soil bears

Virgil was a Roman poet of long ago, but these words remind us of the importance of considering where it is we both sow and reap: "Consider what each soil will bear, and what each refuses." The type of soil is important because it directly correlates to what will be either accepted and produce, or what will be rejected, leaving good seed to become withered or choked out in time. What is the soil of your heart really like? At this very moment, would you say your heart's soil is well-cultivated, capable of bearing a bountiful harvest? Or would you say there are portions of your heart that haven't embraced anything worthwhile in a good long while? It could be we need to listen to what God is telling us about the condition of our hearts - because the good seed will never be embraced and produce a good harvest if the soil is never prepared!

Can papyrus grow tall on a dry land? Can reeds grow without water? No, they will dry up before harvest. They will be too small to cut and use. People who forget God are like that. Those who oppose him have no hope. They have put their trust in something weak. It is like a spider’s web. When they lean against it, it will break. When they reach out for it, it will not hold them up. Such people are like a vine that gets plenty of water and sunshine, and its branches spread throughout the garden. Its roots spread among the rocks, searching for good soil. But if you move it, it will die, and no one can tell it was ever there. Everything might have been going well, but another vine will take its place. God does not support evil people, and he does not abandon the innocent. (Job 8:11-18)

Seeds need the right soil. If you want weeds to grow, do you have to invite them? No, they seem to find the 'right place' to grow! A reed is a tall form of what some come to think of as 'grass' - it needs pretty moist soil in which to send down its roots. It cannot grow apart from the 'right soil' it needs. Did you realize when you refer to someone as a 'reed', you are really saying they are people who are weak or impressionable? Their roots are planted, they show signs of being strong, but they move like crazy! The water dries up and they are not able to sustain life any longer. They become useless because they have no solid foundation for their growth - their resources for growth evaporate! 

The vine may grow a little stronger because it has 'searching roots', but it really has 'wandering roots'. The purpose of the roots going outward is so that it can find another place to surface - to send up growth. It may not be in the ideal place, or even desired growth, but it sends out the root in search of that next place to emerge. Vines are known for their 'clinging roots' - they not only wander, but they like to 'cling' to whatever they come in contact with. The problem is that they may not always be in contact with the best stuff that will produce the most fruitful of growth. They have something the reed does not - clinging tendrils. These tendrils may keep them in place, but they don't serve to ensure they have a good footing!

The type of soil is important, but so is the root system we are trying to cultivate. We can be trees planted by the stream, with strong tap roots that won't settle for mediocre growth, clinging onto whatever we can find. As trees send down that tap root, it isn't for show - it is for stability and growth. Did you realize that the root system of any growing thing actually weighs more than the thing produced? Why? It is the source of all that surfaces! There can be evidence of growth, but the question is if all the growth we give evidence of is really the growth God desires. Just sayin!

Let him at it!

As a parent, we all have those moments when we are less than patient with our children. As caregivers to the elderly, we can experience those similar moments. Regardless of our 'age' in Jesus, he never seems to become impatient with us. God is immensely patient with his children. He gives us space - to make our own choices. He gives us time - to come to our own conclusions. He gives us these things because he knows that in order to have our heart, he must have it yielded willingly - we must 'want to' yield our hearts to him. God is infinitely patient in his waiting for us to turn from our sin - but he will not wait forever. Sometimes, he gives us gentle, but quite firm nudges to cause us to see our sin. When he does, remember that it is out of his immense love for us that he has done so.

You didn't think, did you, that just by pointing your finger at others you would distract God from seeing all your misdoings and from coming down on you hard? Or did you think that because he's such a nice God, he'd let you off the hook? Better think this one through from the beginning. God is kind, but he's not soft. In kindness he takes us firmly by the hand and leads us into a radical life-change. (Romans 2:3-4)

We often want to take the "focus" off of us by putting it on someone else - pointing out their faults. It is like we believe that by pointing out the other person's faults, no one will ever see ours, including God! Silly us! In fact, look at what another criticizes in another on a frequent basis and you will usually have a good idea of what the one doing the criticizing is struggling with, too! That includes me! It is not a subtle walk with God that we are called to live out. It is a "radical" life-change. These three words say it all! Radical means getting at the root of things. This word carries the idea of getting at the fundamental stuff - what's really at the core of our being. 

When God goes for the "root", he is expecting something to be extremely different in the end. The "root" of something gives it both the stability and the system for being nurtured. If the "root" is wrong - the fruit will be, as well. Life really focuses us on looking at what is produced. This word carries the idea of growth - the ability to adapt when moved upon by a force greater than ourselves. God focuses on the root because he hopes to affect the fruit. He is concerned with our growth. His desire is that we no longer "adapt" to the world around us, but that we "adapt" to his will, his direction, and his love for us. In so doing, he really is "transplanting" us from infertile, diseased soil into the nutrient rich soil of his grace. There is no better place to take root.

Change signifies us moving (sometimes at a snail's pace) from what we were to what we would become if we were left to our own devices. God is not as concerned about what we have the "ability" to do as in helping us realize that ability in him. His greatest goal is to make our "form" or "nature" just like his son's. To do this, he removes the covering we place over our sin in an attempt to hide it from him and others. In so doing, the exposure allows him to transform what has been hidden into something that can actually be a display of his grace. So, it is to this radical life-change that God calls us. We can probably all agree, it is easier to cover up our sin than it is to face it - but no amount of cover-up will change what is produced in the end. The "cover-up" needs to be over in our lives! It is time to allow the Lord to see the "true" us! He has something divine he desires to produce...so let him at it! Just sayin!