Bad Soil

A barren beauty. The Salt Flats in western Utah are fascinating. Miles of white, smooth ground, unbroken by rock or tree or bush (just occasional manmade structure – like a sea monster of tires painted green). One may be tempted to think, “This plain clearly gets no water and that causes it’s beautiful baldness.” But the truth is the Salt Flats get a fair amount of water (for the desert).
So why are the Salt Flats barren? The soil is bad. It cannot absorb water. Rain and snow melt just puddle on the surface and never penetrate that hard, depleted crust. Regardless of the amount of water, the soil is not prepared to receive water or seed or nutrients. It cannot do what it is meant to do.
And as I peered out over the sad, dry reaches of those Salt Flats, I wondered: What parts of my life (or heart) have the potential to bear fruit for Christ, but are barren because my soil is unprepared to receive the Living Water of Christ? Has unforgiveness hardened some areas? Maybe pride is sealing up other parts? Ungodly entertainment? Goals apart from God? Poor stewardship? Personal demands or expectations?

“Break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the Lord, till He comes and rains righteousness on you.” – Hosea 10:12

---