Early in life most folks are simply concerned about getting
by day to day and are not too concerned about their future or future
generations. If we were born in America,
we’re already richer than the vast majority of the world’s population. And sadly, for most of us, we gauge our wellness
by looking at those around us. There are
pockets of the world with people that have far fewer material goods in their life
that are far more satisfied with their situation than those that have far more
stuff. Those civilizations such as the
native Americans were custodians of their surroundings so that future
generations could survive and thrive.
They shared their beliefs and consumed only those things that sustained
life.
Nine years ago, I was standing in an observation area at
Qumran, Israel overlooking cave 4 where priceless segments of all fifty-two
chapters of the ancient Old Testament book of the prophet Isaiah were discovered. A dry, hot desert wind was blowing across the
desolate landscape with the inviting Dead Sea reflecting the bright sunshine behind
me. Other caves in this desolate and
difficult to reach region also contained many other scrolls of Biblical books
along with other writings. They had been copied and later hidden in clay jars
by an ascetic sect called the Essenes who had retreated from the broken world
around them, thus preserving some of the earliest copies of world-famous
writings. The occupying Romans conquered Qumran in 68 C.E in response to the
great Jewish revolt of the time and dispersed the people.
My mind connected to a time many years ago when I was
standing at the edge of a great canyon in Mesa Verde, Colorado and gazing in
wonder at ancient cliff dwellings. The Anasazi Indians occupied these cliff
dwellings as the wind circulated in a timeless Bernoulli effect through the
canyon. The Anasazi planted life giving corn on the “green tables” above them
and retreated to the cliff dwellings for protection from the elements and
warring tribes. Archaeologists speculate that a twenty-four-year drought
finally drove the people to abandon their community.
When we were walking the Mesa Verde cliff dwellings, I
noticed a display that was seared in my memory to this day. The archaeologists
exploring the site had discovered a very important find. It was a large clay
pot thrown and decorated in the ancient Pueblo Indian style. And it contained
the most priceless treasure that the people possessed. The departing people had
hidden a cache of seed corn for another season of planting. Agriculture societies must always set aside
enough of the harvest to provide seeds for the next year’s life sustaining
crop. Even though the people may have been starving at the time, they knew the
seed corn must be preserved for future generations!
They say that God is in the wind such as in Qumran and Mesa Verde and as a boy growing up in
the windy central Kansas plains, I came to instinctively know this as well. Interestingly, the Essenes had accomplished
the same objective as the Anasazi by hiding these priceless scrolls in clay jars so that
scholars could have the benefit of examining some of the earliest Biblical
writings in existence 2,000 years later. The arid climates and caves had
preserved both the seed corn and the scrolls in clay vessels for future
generations. And once the crisis had passed and they were exposed to the light,
they both could germinate into new life!
And we too are vessels shaped from the stardust clay of the
earth, created to prosper and care for those who follow.
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