Our Task

I had occasion to take a drive up state highway 15 a few days ago through central Kansas. We went to an away basketball game (the last of the season) in which several of our girls were involved. Although we drove back to Wichita late at night, the trip up to Enterprise (look that up on your Google Maps) was in the daylight, and I had an opportunity to see some of the country in that part of the state.
I noticed two things on my drive up. First, there were several fields where the soil had been turned and was bare. I had forgotten just how rich that soil is in that part of the state. I’m sure those who own the land there, though, never forget that some of the richest soil on the face of the earth is in central Kansas.
I have to wonder just how well our stewardship of that soil is. Oh, I don’t know that there is a problem there…I just want to be sure we are caring properly for the resources that we are given. And from what I saw, we're doing OK in that area. We've developed wildlife sanctuary areas, controlled erosion, and are replacing nutrients in the soil. We've not arrived, but are making progress.
The second thing that I noticed is that in several areas of grassland, the ranchers are cutting the red cedars that are taking over the pastures. Cedars are considered a nuisance in pastures. They deplete the soil of water. They kill the grass under them. They multiply if left unchecked until there is no grass left.
I’m glad to see that this species is finally being controlled, at least to some extent. We’ve robbed the tallgrass prairie of its ability to fend off these intruders on its own. Now we have to step up to the plate and help restore more natural balance. This is one way to do that.
As we learn more and more about God’s creation and our role in it as the species chosen by God to have dominion over it, we also understand that our responsibility is to care for and keep it to the very best of our ability. We are finally beginning to see that and are beginning to fulfill our task.