Science has discovered that one half of a teaspoon of soil contains106 billion organisms. That is more than the population of the world. Only about 1% of the microorganisms have been identified. They include single cell organisms, bacteria, fungi, microbes, and protozoa that form biome ecosystems that operate in community, producing nutrients essential to plant growth. There are thousands of species, each serving unique functions that contribute to a balanced soil ecosystem. They break down organic material from plants and animals decaying in the soil that are otherwise unavailable to plants. Fungi handle the first round of deception. Bacteria produce nitrogen and phosphorus that are chemically transformed into forms up by plant roots. It takes a community working together to produce healthy soil.
Do you see any relationship between the soil biome and these verses:
Romans 12:4-6: Just as each of us has one body with many members, and not all members have the same function, so in Christ we who are many are one body, and each member belongs to one another. We have different gifts according to the grace given us.
1 Cor. 12:26-7: But God has composed the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its members should have mutual concern for one another. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
Eph. 4:11-13: And it was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for works of ministry and to build up the body of Christ, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, as we mature to the full measure of the stature of Christ.
When we, as one body in Christ work together in community using our God given gifts, the result will be maturity, good soil that shows itself in our love for God and for others.
Cultivating the Soil
Gen 2:15 Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to cultivate it and tend it. NASB, and also Gen 3:23 Therefore the LORD God sent him out of the Garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken.
God ‘s will was for man to cultivate and keep the garden and when sent from the garden, to cultivate the land to which he was sent. The words “tend” and “care for” can be substituted for “cultivate”.
Consider Luke 13:6-8. Then Jesus told this parable: “A man had a fig tree that was planted in his vineyard. He went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. So he said to the keeper of the vineyard, ‘Look, for the past three years I have come to search for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Therefore cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’ Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone again this year, until I dig around it and fertilize it. 9If it bears fruit next year, fine. But if not, you can cut it down.’”
In this section, the landowner decides to remove the fig. tree that has not born fruit, but the vineyard keep wants to loosen the soil around the tree, fertilize it and give it another chance to bear fruit. If our lives are fruitless and barren, might we be given a second chance? What are some ways a loving God might disturb and enrich the soil of our lives resulting in fruitfulness? Are we taking care to cultivate ourselves? Are there ways in which the land is being misused today?
Watering the soil
We live in an area with lots of canals that are empty most of the year. The soil is dry, loose and sandy. There are plant and other waste products in the channels. But when water from the mountain snowmelt is released, the canals become channels of life- giving moisture to crop producing farmland. Human lives are dry, dusty, and debris filled until the living water of God’s Spirit flows through them, giving life to our fields of dryness so that we can bear fruit. Galatians 5:22-23. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Return to Nature Studies Menu