Tilth

'Tilth' is the language of farmers and gardeners, referring to the materials (humus) in the soil which both make it loose and enable available fertility. Tilth. It is the way the soil feels, the manner in which the earth works, the capacity of the land itself to provide a home for the seed to sprout and grow.

Tilth isn't something which just happens. Tilth develops as the result of conscientious stewardship of the soil in the blending of last year's crop residues with what is to become this year's crop seedbed. Tilth takes time. One year, one moment of time, one effort is not enough. The development of tilth in the earth takes decades, even generations.

So, why are we surprised when soil which has been mined for every ounce of production it can offer, including the very life of the previous crop itself, doesn't produce well? Why are we offended when cuts appear in fields where water runs from one place to the next for lack of honest faithful stewarding? Why are we saddened when the methods we employ to raise a bumper crop fail for the lack of simple tending to the tilth of the land from which we hope to feed the world? Adding fertilizer only masks our pain, only meets the short-term goal. The earth requires the humus of the season's cycles to have the tilth required to build it for children yet to be born who will eat of its goodness. Tilth.

As it is with the earth, so it is with faith. As it is with the land, so it is with discipleship. As it is with the soil, so it is with the work of God's people. Tend to your faith, your discipleship, your service to the One who knows and creates you, lest in avoiding the need for tilth in your life, you end up with a barren spirit, a life incapable of receiving the goodness of God's Baptismal waters. God waits for the generations of tilth in your life to make all the difference in the journey and feeding of another. So the Kingdom grows. Tilth.