Learning from the Dirt
Last weekend was an adventure for me. Friday I joined a group of first graders from Mars Hill at the Cook’s Museum in Decatur before I made my way over to Bridgeport for the weekend. At the time I really didn’t know that much of my trip was going to revolve around the history of Alabama as much as it did. Of course there are many interesting facts to be learned about our state and its critters at the Cook’s Museum. There are some fun activities that you can do that help you explore the various habitats we have in our state, from the Gulf to the mountains, and the swamps to the farmland. If you haven’t been to this little gem of a museum right here in north Alabama I would encourage you to.
I thought that would be all of my history and learning for the weekend because I was actually headed to Bridgeport to do a weekend Gospel meeting so I assumed I would be doing all the teaching from there on. I was wrong. On Saturday morning I visited the Russell Cave National Monument and hiked around the grounds. This has a significant history showing continuous native presence for thousands of years. Many natives are buried in and around the cave and they had several artifacts in the visitor center that were very interesting to see.
We left there and visited an elder from the church who had even more Native American artifacts including bowls, tools, and hundreds of arrowheads--many of which had been found in the same valley as Russell Cave. From there we visited another member’s store that sells memorabilia and artifacts from all of American history -- from the days of it’s founding through all of the various wars and battles. Finally, we visited the oldest Church of Christ in Alabama - the Rocky Springs Church of Christ. It dates back to 1807 and there are still about 30 or so members that attend Sunday morning services every week. Many generations of believers are buried in the cemetery across the street.
The meeting was well attended and I hope there were some lessons learned by those in attendance. However, what I was reminded of was how we all leave our mark in one way or another. I don’t know if people will be doing archaeological digs of our civilization or not. If they are it might mean something went terribly wrong, but if they were, what would they find out about us? What would they be impressed with? What would they want to mimic about our lives? What would they be glad to have gotten rid of? What marks are we leaving for the good.
I’m thankful that many of our forefather’s left a mark of faith and handed down the gospel from generation to generation. I’m also thankful that we have learned from history how to treat people in better ways than some of our forefathers did. Every generation has done great things for mankind and the church. Every generation has also found ways to mess things up. That is how we all know we are human. Jesus came to redeem every last one of us. From the native that walked here long before the white man arrived to the slaves who were brought over from another land against their will to the many different people who have been guilty of hurting those around them. He died for every person but it is up to every person to accept Him and follow Him. History is interesting to me, but just like the history of the Bible it is intended for our learning so that we can do better. So my challenge to you today is that we become educated from those who have come before us. Be challenged by our history. Learn from the dirt.
Ben