“By the fruit you shall know them, and be nourished with every good thing”

I never thought I’d hear wisdom in worms, but since vermicomposting is a new hobby of mine, (see www.PamSpock.com/worms) I am starting to appreciate their quiet, little voices.

And their remarkable deeds!

Did you know that the world would have a critical garbage problem, and depleted soil issues, (more than it does already) if it wasn’t for the tiniest of creatures such as worms, microbes, and such like?  A single red wiggler worm, for example, can process 10 pounds of material every year – transforming our “waste” into something useful and nutritious.

Another very interesting thing is that what goes into a worm, and then comes out the other end, are practically two different things.  Worm castings (i.e.”poop”) is actually called “black gold” to gardeners, because of how nutritionally dense it is.  Soil that my worms process is miraculously 5 times richer in nitrogen, 10 times in potassium, 7 times in phosphate, 1.5 times in calcium and 3 times richer in magnesium!

It is truly amazing how the Creator shows us his heart through nature.  In His ultimate design, nothing (and might I add, no one) is wasted of all He creates.

You Shall Know Them By their – Dung?

Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them – Mark 7:15

Often in religious circles there is an emphasis on the “garbage” we shouldn’t watch, listen to, or fellowship with.  At the same time the Bible is promoted as the most organically “safe” thing to read.   Which is misleading, because no two people, if they really know each other, can agree on what the Bible teaches about very critical things. Jesus said the religious leaders knew it well, and got it wrong.  And history proves many terrible things have been justified with scripture.

No, there’s nothing “safe” about the Bible.  It has an imperfect and raw form to it, and it needs proper assimilation to transform the organic matter in it (Christ) into life-giving words.  As it is with anything!  More and more I’m convinced of something….

It’s not so much what we eat, that is most important, as it is how we eat.

As I see it, this is Jesus’ point when dealing with the religious lawyers of His day. They read the Old Testament as a rule book and focused on the external “do’s and don’ts” of religion, while all along their shitty behavior was being covered up.  Things like being aloof and divisive, gossip and slander, an argumentative and fearful approach to the new thing Jesus was bringing, stingy with money, doing things to get the praise of men … these are just some of the unclean things that seemed to be “pooping out” of these judges.  And these were only the obvious things. How much more was hidden in their private lives?

To the Pure all Things Are Pure, Titus 1:15

If you are like me, you try to eat healthy, organic, and non-processed foods.  But you don’t beat yourself up for sometimes eating things that are less than perfect.  We’d be miserable and paranoid if we did!  Not to mention there is so much we don’t even see and know about, such as chemicals that leach in through the packaging, or that is in the air and products all around us.  In fact, if we worried and stressed about all that stuff at the same time of eating a fresh organic vegetable salad, for example, it is unlikely that the full benefit of the salad would even get into us!  Worry and fear is a hinderance for healthy digestion.

On the other hand, maybe our choices are limited at a certain time (or not), and we end up eating a Big Mac and fries.  But if we eat it with thankfulness, joy, and in fellowship with God and others – can that food not be sanctified unto our body’s health? *

Interestingly, my lowly, dirty worms have helped me to understand better what it means, “to the pure all things are pure.”  It doesn’t mean everything that we take in to ourselves is pure, in and of itself.  But it could mean that the vital, spiritual organs of faith and love give the “pure in heart” the ability to see Christ in ways and places that others may not, and from it, produce life-giving results.  It may be from the Bible, or it may be from other things and people that is expressing the glory of God.  Loving God in relationship opens up eyes to see the whole world as a living parable to draw good things from. When my brother was in love with his now-wife, he said that he once saw her smiling face in his breakfast eggs, and it cheered his heart while being apart!  I thought that was a beautiful example of how love brings color, light, and a fresh meaning to the even the most mundane things of life.

Treasures out of Trash

The humble worm is a simple, but amazing creature that does an important job under the ground recycling raw, harsh waste into something that is beneficial and useful.  Humans, on the other hand, have their job above ground, of bringing heaven to earth, little by little, by overcoming evil with good, renewing their thoughts, and nourishing the world with their loving deeds!

Never underestimate the small things.

The mouth speaks what the heart is full of,
and a good person brings good things out of the good that is stored up in them.
Matt 12:34-35

*(1 Tim. 4:5)

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