We are God’s dirt~the soil for His garden. We know that Adam started out immortal but, after the fall, God told Adam that he came from dust, and would one day return to the dust. (Then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living soul. Genesis 2:7) But, we are also likened to the potter’s clay, molded into shape by the skillful hands of the Maker. (But now, O LORD, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand. Isaiah 64:8)
The key to being dirt in a pot, as opposed to the dirt of the ground, is that God has chosen us, taking us out of the ground, and putting us into a pot, where we can grow the seed of His choosing, under His supervision. The same seed can be sown in the dirt of the ground~outside, unprotected and undernourished. Without someone to take care of it, that seed might soon die, leaving the ground bare. Or, a seed from the enemy can come in and take root in the dirt that holds the Godly seed, causing turmoil in the person’s life as he or she grows. (But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away. Matt. 13:25)
It is the Maker who fashions the clay, sows the seed, putting it in His protected place, watering and nourishing it, until it matures into a healthy plant. Then, He transplants it into a place of His choosing, so it can continue to grow, bear fruit, and drop seed into the fertile ground in which it grows, to bring up the next generation Godly seed.
So, we are all God’s dirt. But, whose seed is taking root in you? We are also God’s clay. Are you letting Him mold you into what He wants you to be? And, we are also seed that grows, bears fruit, and sows more seed. Which stage of the seed’s life are you in? Or, has the enemy planted a counterfeit seed in you, that you are not aware of?
A garden really lives
only insofar as it is an expression of faith,
the embodiment
of a hope
and a song of praise.
- Russell Page, The Education of a Gardener, 1962
