Message summary: May God help each of us to have lives like that of receptive good soil so we grow in our faith and bear fruit for Christ!

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"He (King Uzziah) also built towers in the wilderness and dug many cisterns, because he had much livestock in the foothills and in the plain. He had people working his fields and vineyards in the hills and in the fertile lands, for he loved the soil" (2 Chronicles 26:10).

Yesterday we joined our friends Ken and Audrey Mull for a meal at a very interesting restaurant that uses a repurposed greenhouse for the dining room. Eating our meal we were surrounded by plants (look carefully and you can spot Brooksyne and the Mulls in the far left corner). It was certainly an interesting place to share a meal.

The rest of the property was still an active greenhouse with many interesting plants that were unique to us. Walking through it was like a mini Longwood Gardens* that is nearby.

We didn't buy any plants but we sure got some ideas which were free! They just take some work now, mostly on Brooksyne's part, since she has the green thumb. We already implemented one of the ideas although we purchased the plants at a far less expensive Amish-owned greenhouse near us on our way home.

Last evening she planted perennial sedum in hanging baskets which we can use outside through the winter. Most of her hanging baskets are annuals which only last through the summer and early fall, but in the winter months we have nothing to hang on the hangers except bird feeders. Sedum requires very little water so it will continue to grow over the winter without any attention.

This morning we ran out of potting soil so we went to our local garden center and purchased 2 bags of Green Thumb potting mix. Brooksyne has several other small planting projects in mind and needed some good soil to proceed. After all, if you're out of pots or potting soil about the only place you can plant is the ground which already has about all the flowers and plants we have room for this year.

Speaking of soil, today we consider the subject of soil or more affectionately called dirt. The first mention of soil in the Bible was that "Cain worked the soil" (Genesis 4:2). However soil is implicit from the third day of creation when "God said, 'Let the land produce vegetation'" (Genesis 1:11). Then "The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it" (Genesis 2:15).

Today's text, a brief description of King Uzziah, may be easily overlooked in a historical part of the Bible that's rather tedious to read. "He also built towers in the wilderness and dug many cisterns, because he had much livestock in the foothills and in the plain. He had people working his fields and vineyards in the hills and in the fertile lands, for he loved the soil" (2 Chronicles 26:10).

Some, like Uzziah, love the soil. Some, like Brooksyne, enjoy planting vegetables to eat and flowers to brighten our day. Others, like our farmer friend Galen, work and love the soil for their livelihood and to provide for the needs of others.

We are all beneficiaries in one way or another of good soil necessary for our daily bread and most other forms of sustenance. I would think few of us are on a seafood only diet!

My cereal this morning was from plants grown in soil as well as the juicy strawberries that were an added bonus. The milk from a cow is the result of grass and crops grown in soil. Then I had some toasted sourdough bread thanks to the Malliard reaction (look it up). Thank God today for the gift of soil.

Soil is used figuratively by Jesus in the parable of the sower to illustrate our receptivity to His truth claims (Matthew 13:23). "As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty”.

May God help each of us to have lives like that of receptive good soil so we grow in our faith and bear fruit for Christ!

Be encouraged today, Hebrews 3:13

Stephen & Brooksyne Weber

Daily prayer: Father, we think of the parable Jesus tells of a farmer who sows seed indiscriminately with some seed falling on the path with no soil, some on rocky ground with little soil, and some on good soil. In the first example the seed is taken away; in the second and third soils, the seed fails to produce a crop; but when the tiny seeds fall on good soil, they grow and yield a hundred fold and produce a fruitful harvest. May we be receptive of the seeds that are planted in our hearts from messengers of the Gospel and from truths presented in Your Holy Word so that we bear fruit and yield a harvest of souls for Your kingdom. Amen.

"Lord, Let My Heart Be Good Soil"  Watch on YouTube  Alethea Wilhelm

Terrain Cafe - Glen Mills, PA  is located here on Google maps

* Longwood Gardens is a famed garden just down the road from the Terrain Cafe and Greenhouses on Route 1.