A different way of thinking

So a few months ago, I read one of the books that Rachel Joy Scott's parents, Darrell Scott and Beth Nimmo, wrote after her death in the Columbine shootings. The book I read, Rachel's Tears, shared stories from Rachel's parents, as well as some of Rachel's journal entries from various journals and scraps of paper that she had in her room and her backpack. One part of this book really struck me as cool. This is something Rachel and her dad shared frequently apparently.

"One of Rachel’s favorite bible studies that we did together was about the difference between the seed and the sod. I had helped her to understand that we were made from dirt and our bodies will return to dirt. However, that dirt is the planting ground for an eternal seed. Farmers don’t look for clean dirt when they plant seeds. They don’t vacuum all the dirt out of the garden so the seeds won’t get dirty. They need the dirt for the seed to grow. In fact, sometimes the dirt isn’t dirty enough, so they spread cow manure over the dirt to make it dirtier! They call this rich soil.

"When we focus our eyes on “self,” we’re looking at the dirt. When we focus on the seed growing in the dirt, we produce fruit! It is so important to understand that the Christian walk is not me becoming perfect; it’s Christ growing to perfection in me. There are two verses that sound contradictory in the bible, and yet they form a complete truth: “I can of mine own self do nothing,” and “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”

Rachel knew the difference between the seed and the sod. She knew that once the seed began to grow, people would no longer look at the dirt, but instead focus on the emerging fruit of that seed. She knew she wasn’t perfect. But she realized that god was doing some wonderful things within her."

These are things that I never thought about when I read things like the parable of the sower and the seed. It's a very good example of looking at more than just the surface of the parables and their meanings. I am continually amazed at the depths of God in every way, and how I can always learn things and think about things in a way that I've never thought about before. I love how God gives us all different spiritual insights and ways of thinking so that we can share those with others to help them.

But enough rambling, I just thought others might enjoy that as well. :)