Picking Up Rocks
Hebrews 12:1-3
Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.
Many hunters enjoy the spring and summer preparation for the fall hunt, in particular planting food plots for deer. Ambushing deer on the way to a food plot can be highly effective, but hunting over a food plot during the fall colors can be magical. It can be fun to watch deer eat, play, and display their social structure while sitting in a blind or stand. Sometimes, a dominant or older doe is standing sentinel for the group’s protection. Maybe with a little luck, you can watch a shooter buck come out of the fringe with 5 minutes of shooting light left.
Food plots take work, especially when creating a new food plot from previously untilled land. We had a chance recently to create a new, 2-acre plot from untilled land on one of our hunting leases. The dairy farmer’s bulldozer (run by his 80-year-old father!) had removed trees, brush and large rocks, but a significant amount of demanding work was left for us. We made many passes with a spring-loaded chisel plow to loosen earth and rocks near the surface, then did several passes with a disk cultivator. After each pass we picked up the rocks and hauled them to the edges of the field. Even with the tractor grapple it was long, sweaty and exhausting. And we doubtless left many unseen rocks behind, below the surface.
After all this time and effort, a bountiful crop is what we hope for, but we know that there are always more rocks under the surface. These rocks expose themselves after more tilling, after a rain or seemingly for no reason at all. Nevertheless, we trust enough to plant with faith that there will be good harvest. And, over time, even a rocky food plot will improve, with fewer rocks “cropping up” and hauled away each season.
This new food plot and its vast quantity of rocks can be compared to Christian life and how we strive to be closer to the Lord. Our spiritual life is like the field. We labor in it to produce a good and abundant crop. However, the “rocks”, like sinful thoughts and behaviors, are always present and we must therefore continually cast them away. We, like the food plot, are not perfect, yet we endeavor to produce a bountiful yield for the Lord.
The one thing that we must look for is a continually smaller quantity of “rocks” in our lives. As we go through the sanctification process (becoming more like Christ) the sin issues will get fewer and fewer. If this isn’t happening, we need to check our hearts. By removing the sin our walk becomes purer and stronger.
Don’t be discouraged when rocks keep appearing but rather be persistent, avoiding and removing sinful thoughts and behaviors. Strive continually to remove the rocks in your life!
Written by Gary Dabkowski – Supporter of God’s Great Outdoors
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