The Faith of a Pumpkin Seed
If you've never witnessed the germination and growth of a pumpkin vine, then you are missing out on something magical. This has been the second season in which I have seen the fruit of my labors, but moreso the fruit of the hand of God. This summer, in perhaps a more feeble way than I think, I have come to know why agriculture can make a God-fearer out of you.
It all starts out with a seed scarcely the size of a fingernail, which sprouts within a week or so. From there the growth is rapid and vigorous. Within a couple months the ground that was once the home of a little sproutling, is covered with green. The pumpkins are formed and ripening.
Where is the miracle, you may ask? It is in the fruit, in the vine, in the habitation formed by the Whole. The miracle is in the organization of Chaos. Dirt is entropy of earthly organic materials. Dirt is death, the disassociation of materials from a lively form to a non-intelligent state. Somehow the pumpkin seed uses the roadmap of DNA, water, and solar radiation, to elevate the dead earth to a higher state. In that seed is the blueprint for the roots, vine, leaves, fruit, flower, and little grabby things. Each cell has been planned from the beginning. They all follow an order. What is most amazing to me is that hundreds, if not thousands of seeds are produced from the one original. Baffling is the thought that my seed is the product of thousands of generations of pumpkins.
Can man, with his puny arm create life? Has he discovered this great secret? No. There is no method of constructing a seed from raw materials by hand. It is entirely too complicated. Man can only follow the course that nature's God has prescribed for his creations - that is, plant the seed, and water. The rest is left out of his hands. It is in pondering the infinite detail of something so common as a pumpkin seed, and man's inability to recreate it, that we truly appreciate the hand of God. Life is intelligence, which cannot be created or made. It is from the ground that life springs forth. The elements of the dust are elevated to the level of a plant; man and animal then incorperates the plant into his own body. The flesh is then subjected to the spirit of the organism as the spirit submits itself to the Father. There is always a higher power to exhalt matter to the next level. The dirt does not simply form itself into a plant, and the plant does not become an animal of its own free will. The flesh of man cannot be spiritual unless the spirit brings it under its power. Man cannot be like unto God unless God and Man becomes one through the Atonement. Life on every level, therefore, is out of the hands of the organism, and wholly dependant on a Higher Power.*
*see the writings of James Talmage
It all starts out with a seed scarcely the size of a fingernail, which sprouts within a week or so. From there the growth is rapid and vigorous. Within a couple months the ground that was once the home of a little sproutling, is covered with green. The pumpkins are formed and ripening.
Where is the miracle, you may ask? It is in the fruit, in the vine, in the habitation formed by the Whole. The miracle is in the organization of Chaos. Dirt is entropy of earthly organic materials. Dirt is death, the disassociation of materials from a lively form to a non-intelligent state. Somehow the pumpkin seed uses the roadmap of DNA, water, and solar radiation, to elevate the dead earth to a higher state. In that seed is the blueprint for the roots, vine, leaves, fruit, flower, and little grabby things. Each cell has been planned from the beginning. They all follow an order. What is most amazing to me is that hundreds, if not thousands of seeds are produced from the one original. Baffling is the thought that my seed is the product of thousands of generations of pumpkins.
Can man, with his puny arm create life? Has he discovered this great secret? No. There is no method of constructing a seed from raw materials by hand. It is entirely too complicated. Man can only follow the course that nature's God has prescribed for his creations - that is, plant the seed, and water. The rest is left out of his hands. It is in pondering the infinite detail of something so common as a pumpkin seed, and man's inability to recreate it, that we truly appreciate the hand of God. Life is intelligence, which cannot be created or made. It is from the ground that life springs forth. The elements of the dust are elevated to the level of a plant; man and animal then incorperates the plant into his own body. The flesh is then subjected to the spirit of the organism as the spirit submits itself to the Father. There is always a higher power to exhalt matter to the next level. The dirt does not simply form itself into a plant, and the plant does not become an animal of its own free will. The flesh of man cannot be spiritual unless the spirit brings it under its power. Man cannot be like unto God unless God and Man becomes one through the Atonement. Life on every level, therefore, is out of the hands of the organism, and wholly dependant on a Higher Power.*
*see the writings of James Talmage
I think this is a brilliant piece; thanks for your insights.
ReplyDeleteWhen you commit to something, it's definitely "go big or go home." (aka you went big - college football started this week, the old lingo of Edwards Stadium is seeping into my vocabulary again) Very well said - good image with the pumpkin seed too. I'm sure your patch is overtaking your side yard now. The element of divinity in everything we do and see has been on my mind lately whether it's admiring the leaves changing outside my window or observing the immense potential in a classroom of squirrelly teenagers. Great writing Mr. Lewis--
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