Dig Deep

J

ohn Black always had a shovel in his hand.  I never knew a time when John wasn’t covered in red dirt and clay.  John worked for my grandfather and for my father digging graves whenever one was needed.  At that time, graves were dug by hand.  It was a grueling job but one that John performed to perfection, always ready with his shovel to dig a hole six feet deep in order to return someone to the ground from which they came.

As a young boy, I would sometimes ride with my dad to the cemetery where John and his partner, Parnell, were digging graves.  It always amazed me the amount of dirt these two men piled up as they dug deeper and deeper into the earth.  I begged my dad to let me go with John to help him.  I was convinced my help would speed up the process and render John a great service. 

Finally, one day, my dad gave me permission to go with John.  I jumped into the truck between him and Parnell, and we headed off to dig a grave.  I was so excited because I knew we’d be done in an hour or so and then I could come home and brag to all my friends that I had helped John Black dig a grave in record time.  Boy, was I mistaken, misled, and completely off target! 

When we got to the cemetery, it didn’t take me long to figure out that this would take some time; that it was much more difficult than my little eight-year-old mind had dreamed.  Dirt is heavy and there is a lot of it to remove in order to create a six-foot pit that is rectangular in shape.  After three shovels full, I was spent, ready to throw in the towel, looking for my dad to come and rescue me from the sun, the dirt, and the work.  John and Parnell, however, continued to dig, going deeper and deeper into the ground.  They stopped only occasionally for a drink of water and a breather and then it was back to work.

All the while, John gave me a hard time about the three shovels full of dirt I had moved.  He said he didn’t know how he would have managed if I hadn’t been there to help him. John always liked to joke and he loved giving me a hard time.  This is one of the reasons I liked John but I really liked him because he knew how to dig and he didn’t stop until he was finished!

What a picture of the Christian life this is.  Far too often, we stop digging for the deep things of God because it requires time and effort.  We are content to remain near the surface, believing that a little bit of effort moves a lot of dirt. We want the blessings God has to offer us but we don’t want to dig for them.  After moving three small shovels full of spiritual dirt, we are ready to quit, hoping God will bless us in the same manner as if we had removed six feet of it.  Guess what, it just doesn’t happen that way.  In order to learn and experience the deep things of our God, we must dig and dig deep.

Jeremiah 29:13 reminds us of this great truth, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”  This is one of the great promises of the Scriptures but it carries with it one condition.  This was given to the people of Israel as a promise that God would bring them out of exile and would once again be their God.  But the people had to seek the Lord, and they had to seek him with all their hearts.  You can’t find something unless you are looking for it and looking for something means not resting until you find it.  This is what God wanted Jeremiah to communicate to the people.  When they made the search for God the most important thing in their lives, when they refused to stop after just three shovels full and continue to the very end, then and only then would they experience the true rapture of finding the Lord.

The same is true with us today.  We must seek the Lord with all our heart, not just some of it.  We cannot afford to put the shovel down after we have removed a small amount of dirt.  We must stick to the task, digging deeper and deeper until we plumb the great truths and promises God has for all those who seek after him.  It always amazed me—and still does—that John spent hours digging a hole in which to place a dead person.  How much more should we delve into God’s word to find the eternal truths that give us life?  Are you digging deep today?