Insightful Musings on the Scriptures

by

Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67

Hello in the evening, special ones.

When I signed off yesterday I kind of left you hanging—didn’t finish my story. Anyway, it was obvious when I went out to check on things before 1:30am yesterday morning that a critter (maybe more than one) was harassing the chickens. There was only one chicken left in the coop. The rest had fled. I walked around the side of the pen, shined the light up into the tree, and there was a raccoon sitting there just looking at me—whom I pronounced guilty. It only took one shot between those yellow eyes and he dropped like a rock. There you have it. We’re now thinking of just selling this batch of chickens. They’re hardly laying, and hardly worth the effort.

In the composition below, we’re underscoring the importance of a daily quiet time. I view that along with my heart-level dialogue with Becki each morning as being of high value importance for the maintenance of my own “soil.” Without this edifying psycho-spiritual resource, I think I could easily become a depressed basketcase.

There is a busy week heading our way. Hope yours goes well. Blessings.

Love, Ray/Dad.

The miraculous reality of plant life is not invented by the soil. No amount of dirt could ever think up a seed that grows, even though the seed needs the dirt in order to grow. All the dirt can do is to offer an environment that nurtures the growth of the seed. Bad soil causes the miracle of the seed to either utterly fail or to impair the seed’s growth potential. But good soil causes the seed to grow and thrive toward productive maturity, yielding fruit way beyond its singular status. Thus, the validity of the old proverb—“You can count the seeds in an apple, but you can’t count the apples in a seed.”

Here is the root of the matter—HEALTHY PRODUCTION REQUIRES HEALTHY SOIL THAT ALLOWS HEALTHY ROOTS. And if we can accept that we as individuals are represented by the soil (that’s all we are, you know—just compositions of dirt) in this meaningful parable told by Jesus, then our personal responsibilities and job descriptions are clarified. So new believers must not be content to simply receive the Gospel message, maybe pray a sinner’s prayer, and presume they are good to go indefinitely. They must be devoted (via devotions) to a lifestyle of nurturing the planted seed of the Spirit by means of daily ongoing discipleship—reading God’s Word, thinking God’s Word, praying God’s Word, applying God’s Word, and sharing God’s Word. That’s a recipe for maintaining good soil—without which the Gospel seed cannot grow.

There is something else here worth noting: What is true of a new believer is also true for an old one—that is, for the believer who has believed a long time—perhaps having already developed deep roots. But here’s the deal—soil, over time, can turn stale and sterile, even polluted with toxins and harmful chemicals that cause ROOT ROT and impair the ongoing health and potential of the seed. The bottom line point is this: There is no substitute, whether a new believer or an old one, for the ongoing personal discipline of cultivation, weeding, watering, and replenishing of essential soil nutrients.