greentheo

Every serious gardener has a compost bin.  They throw their old, unused vegetables, egg shells and other miscellaneous vegetables in it.  And there it sits, dead and rotting for a whole year before it goes back into the garden... as an afterthought to most.

But what an awesome[1] experience it is to discover that what we cast aside as dead and rotting is truly alive and thriving!  What man has cast aside, God has infused with millions of tiny bacteria! And all those bacteria are busy making a feast of your left over broccoli stems and coffee grounds.

In fact they are so happy eating away at your refuse that the party literally gets hot!  The chore of walking out to stir the compost on a cold winter morning can only be  redeemed by the wonderful phenomenon of a steaming pile of old vegetables.  And yes, when you put your hand close to the pile it really is hot!

The bacteria eventually consume everything and turn it into the richest and most protective, life nurturing fertilizer.  Compost really can get just about anything to grow... anywhere (even Colorado).

It's cheap (actually it has negative cost),  and it's easy.  But on a large scale it makes up a tiny portion of the fertilizers used in agriculture.  It provides a chemical-free, and bioengineering-free growing medium that anyone in the world  can produce locally, efficiently and cheaply.  All gratis from the Lord.

And yet, who do we first blame for the evil of starvation?  Who do we first blame for the evil of cancer?  Who do we blame for wars which are usually driven by the economics of land and agriculture?

God may have cursed man to work the soil by the sweat of his brow, but then he gave us rich topsoil from compost to make it easier.  God may have punished women with the pains of child birth, but then he gave her pain killers to make it easier.  God may let it be dark and cold in the winter, but he gives us the warm sun to collect with the simplest of technology.  God gave us the ten commandments, and then gave us Jesus.  God allows our bodies to die, but our selves to be resurrected.

God is like that. He gives a righteous judgment and then gives us a pardon.   That's amazing grace.

So from whence comes evil? I'll start with myself....

1. as in full of awe [↩]