Deep Thoughts About Dirt

God used dirt in the creation of humanity, and there is still much we can learn from this incredible substance.

“And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground” (Genesis 2:7).

Because of that biblical understanding, many years ago I had a friend who was in the habit of referring to himself as “just another dirtbag waiting to be glorified.”

Then there’s an old joke floating around about a scientist challenging God. The scientist in the story explained that since science could now clone human life, we don’t need God anymore. Patiently God listened and suggested a challenge of His own. They would compete in a man-making contest, to which the scientist agreed. But when the scientist reached down to grab a handful of dirt, God replied, “No, no. You make your own dirt!”

Connotations of dirt

Dirt. It’s the stuff of which we humans were made. Genesis reminds us that “dust you are, and to dust you shall return.”

Yet in today’s nonagrarian society, the term “dirt” has lost something of its previous noble connotation. Some people have the reputation of “dishing the dirt,” while others “don’t want to get their hands dirty.”

So, is that all there is to us? Dirt?

Dirt convinced me beyond the shadow of a doubt

My first in-depth experience with dirt—the real stuff plants grow in!—came in a college biology lab. We were doing an experiment, planting seeds and transplanting seedlings. I will never forget that moment when my hands first dug into the rich, black soil—it was electrifying, teeming with life—palpable, pulsating life!

At that moment, I knew beyond the shadow of any Darwinian doubt nipping at my early biblical understanding that my Creator was the only plausible explanation for the marvels of the universe, the miracle of life I now held in my hands.

A partnership with the Creator

Over the years, as I took up gardening and raising small livestock, I felt a partnership with my Creator many times. Hatching chicks in the spring or helping our pregnant does giving birth, I could see the hand of God in everything and feel His tremendous power.

Whether it was the vital healthy bleating of a wobbly newborn struggling on new legs or a stillborn, stiff and lifeless in my arms, I was reminded of the Master’s touch. Only God can give life.

Of course, becoming a mother myself was the crowning achievement of that partnership—bringing to life new human beings in the very image of our Creator! Watching my children and grandchildren come into this world and grow is both a joy and a marvel beyond description.

Year after year, the springtime miracle of planting seeds continues to delight me. “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground,” it cannot grow (John 12:24). The joy of watching things grow and produce fruit—and the satisfaction of enjoying the fruit of my labors—has never diminished.

Firstfruits

Those firstfruits in early summer have provided much insight into the meaning of Pentecost and just how precious we are as firstfruits to our Creator. More than just “dirtbags,” the Bible tells us we shall be just like Jesus Christ—the very sons and daughters of God!

Jesus Himself confirmed this idea with a rhetorical question He answered Himself. “Who is My mother, or My brothers? … Whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother” (Mark 3:33, 35).

Today we cannot fully comprehend what Christ is like, but when He returns, we shall not only see Him as He is, but we shall be just like Him (1 John 3:2).

Composting and abundance

About three years ago, we added composting to our gardening activities, and this year we were ready to use what we had processed. Once again I felt that same electricity of reaching into a barrel of what, for all intents and purposes, would have been garbage—except for God’s miracle of life.

That God has a sense of humor became very clear to me too. Wherever I used that composted mulch, a bumper crop of cherry tomato plants sprang abundantly forth! These hearty, thriving little darlings had come from sad, little, withered plants yielding poorly, worth little more than compost fodder—except that I had prayed for God’s blessing of abundance!

There is a great lesson in this. Only God can transform garbage into life. Through His calling, He can take even our sadly broken lives and bring forth joyful abundant ones.

The apostle Paul reminds us, “For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty” (1 Corinthians 1:26-27).

God can turn dirt into people, and people into children of God! What a wonderful Creator and Father we have!

For more about God’s harvest festivals and how they picture His plan of salvation, see “How God’s Holy Days Reveal His Plan of Salvation.”

Lynda Wasser has taught sixth grade language arts for the last five years. She is the mother of five grown children and grandmother of 17. She and her husband attend the Wichita, Kansas, congregation of the Church of God, a Worldwide Association.