Are You Fit for the Dungheap?

Has the church put the world on a "salt-free diet"? Are we giving the world a "religion" instead of Christ? Has the church eliminated the buzz but kept the buzzwords? Have we kept the look and feel of the real thing but gotten rid of the substance and power?

Jesus held membership in the world's "oldest profession." No, it's not what you're thinking! The truly oldest profession was declared by God in Genesis 2:15 when the first human being was put in the garden and divinely ordered to "tend and till the garden." The world's oldest profession? Gardening.

You only have to check your mailbox to know that despite the increase in urban/suburban living, gardening remains the passion of millions of Americans (75 million of us, making gardening America's #1 leisure activity). Anyone who gets mail-order catalogs probably has already received half-a-dozen publications dedicated to seeds, plants, gardening tools and gadgets, with appropriate gardening garb. Even though we are still in the midst of winter, the gardeners among us are already mentally plotting flower-scapes and furtively planting tiny starter pots in warm corners of our homes.

Just as we all know better than to try and sneak a bag of lawn clippings out with our curbside garbage...