Lessons from the Soil: God’s Design for Life and Community
There’s so many things to learn from in God’s beautiful creation. I think soil is one of the greatest teachers. Not only did the Lord God take the soil to form the man Adam and breathe life into him, but He also decided to make things grow from the soil that would sustain the man and his wife. Sounds like soil is pretty important… We have a lot of voices in our culture today that focus on death and destruction, but I’d like to take a short break from that, and focus on abundant life. Now, death is a part of life, but in order to accept and embrace death, we must understand life. God loves life. He created all life. “All things were made through Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made.” John 1:3 So we can trust that all things that God made have a specific purpose and meaning, and will point all of creation to Him.
Soil is life. For so long I thought all dirt was a lifeless housing unit for species of trees and plants. I didn’t think of dirt, or soil, as a unique, life filled ecosystem that worked together to further all of life. Boy was I wrong. Soil is the natural cornerstone of all life. Not only does healthy soil house trillions of microbiological beings, but it also holds connections of fungi that literally communicate over miles and miles, to help root systems of plants and trees thrive. Scientists have only begun to scratch the surfaces of life in and beneath the soil, but I believe just this surface knowledge is enough for us to see all of life differently.
Soil is made up of trillions of lives, communicates using interconnected networks, and creates ecosystems that feed insects, plants, animals, and humans. What if we did the same? What if, instead of pursuing individual success and abundance, humans recognized that we are in a unique system created by God? A system in which we were meant to follow the laws of God, and the laws of nature that He implemented. We could communicate with one another like fungi, seeing the intrinsic needs of other humans, and work to meet those needs. We would work and play our specific role, like the bacteria in the soil that breaks down organic matter to create more soil. We would work to prevent illness and disease by creating ecosystems of health, attacking problems before they spread, instead of reacting when they do. We would rest. We could sing out God’s praises, seeing the redemption that Jesus brings ringing out in all corners of the Earth, working and groaning for restoration and peace. We could reflect the image of God, that was taken from the soil and given His breath of life. This is what we have the potential to grow together… An ecosystem reflective of the soil. A joy producing, life filled, abundant people that spreads God’s message of true and abundant life.
Let us grow together!
