Is it dirt, or is it Soil?
“Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” Genesis 2:7
My entry today is about something strangely close to my heart.
Dirt.
Soil, actually.
Dirt vs. Soil – What’s the Difference?
There is a difference between dirt and soil. The Soil Science Society of America defines dirt as “displaced soil.”
The stuff someone tracked in my house on the bottom of their shoe is called dirt. The dusty layer at the edge of a highway, which herbicides have stripped of all plant material, is called dirt. If it’s messy and inconvenient and we want to get rid of it, we call it dirt.
How is soil different? If you paid good money for it from a quality farm or garden center, or you spent months or years cultivating and fertilizing and PH-balancing it so that you can grow your prized tomatoes or hydrangeas, you will call it soil.
The difference is how you understand its value.
What is valuable?
Jesus had a different view of what is valuable than most of the people around him.
“Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.” Mark 12:43
“Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God.” Luke 12:6-7
“For it is the one who is least among you all who is the greatest.” Luke 9:48
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’” Matthew 25:40
Remembering Where we came from
Around 3,500 years ago, the Jewish and Christian holy scriptures told our origin story like this: the Creator of the universe formed a person out of topsoil and breathed sacred life and spirit into it. God made it this way and pronounced it “Very Good.” Thus, humankind was made, according to the book of Genesis.
“Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” Genesis 2:7
Practical observation and life science confirm the bible’s account that we are made from soil.
I am made of Soil
Let’s have a quick refresher on the nutrient cycle: The plant consumes nourishment from the soil, embodying the soil’s nutrients in its cell structures. The animal consumes and embodies nourishment from the plant. Now the animal also contains the nutrients from the soil. The human consumes the plant and the animal, embodying the elements that first came from the soil. With every meal I consume, I am very literally being made of the materials that came out of the soil. The very same materials that worms eat and discard is literally what makes up the cells of my body and blood.
“I am sacred. I am wild. I am earth and heaven’s child,” sings Charity Muse on her album Dirt Church Hymns.
So was Jesus
The books of Matthew and Luke both record Jesus’s last supper with his closest friends.
“Jesus said, when you eat the bread, remember ‘This is my body, which was broken for you.’” Luke 22:19
Jesus often spoke in mysteries. But in this case, there is also a very practical reality to his words. Jesus reminded his disciples that the person they worship as the Son of God is made up of the very same materials that compose their bread and wine. His disciples were to remember the body of God incarnate was given so that they could be nourished. The elements that nourish us are of Him and from Him, and they are sacred.
What Is treated like dirt?
I wonder what I have thought of as dirt, when God made it to be soil. Have I thought of myself as dirt, when God made me to be soil?
God is often germinating a seed in places where most of us only see an inconvenient mess. Where others see dirt, God might be inviting us to see something sacred – something He has created on purpose and for a purpose.
Do I have faith in the abundant and flourishing potential God breathed into each carefully crafted individual and the collective whole of His world? Is there a dry and infertile area in my life that needs to be fed and watered so it can produce an abundant crop as God intended?
Some of us might need to take a moment and ask God to open our hearts to receive the unfathomable love and care with which He created us and continues to nurture us day by day.
My prayer today is that God will give me the eyes to see the value of what God created; give me a heart that treasures God’s gifts; and give me the wisdom to to care for His treasures well.
An invitation to consider
- Ask God for eyes to see and ears to hear what he wants to teach you today.
- Read Matthew 13.
- Go outside and find some soil. Hold it in your hand. Consider that this soil you’re holding is the building blocks of the food that nourishes and sustains your physical body.
- Take a moment to allow yourself to see a gift given by God and feel gratitude for it.
- Some of us might want to take a moment to ask God what we are treating like dirt, when God created it to be soil. If He has given you a new awareness, how would He like you to respond?
May the Lord bless you and keep you. May He make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. May the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.