The Parable of The Road
There once was a builder who built a road. He closely studied his plans and specs, beginning by removing the old, rotted, unstable soil. Load after load, wet and rotted soil was removed. Then, trucks began to bring in fresh soil, at times mixing it with a special substance that would help harden the soil to make a firm foundation.
Bulldozers spread the dirt out, arranging and forming. Next came the road grater, smoothing, compacting; finally the roller rolled over and over, pressing, hardening. Dust would blow to and fro and a water truck came, sprinkling drops of water to blanket the dust. Day after day they repeated this action until a road emerged…new and stable…ready for use…
My husband, Paul, has been a builder for more than 45 years. He has worked just about every facet of the building industry, and now works as a Construction Superintendent building hospitals. It was not until recently that I really began to see the parallel of building and our spiritual walk in the Lord. There is the basic, obvious analogy that we understand…lay a good foundation…follow the blueprints…build according to code…but should we not strive to look past the obvious to find the deeper truths? Jesus often taught in parables, seemingly simple stories…
Who hath ears to hear, let him hear - The Amplified Bible says it this way…
He who has ears [to hear], let him be listening and let him consider and perceive and comprehend by hearing. However, many did not understand the depth and truths of the parables. We, ourselves, often read or hear a thing...we say we comprehend and have a grasp of it…we can memorize scripture, quoting chapter and verse…we take it and turn it into a mystic, goose bumped “prophetic” experience…write volumes and bestsellers about it…create divisive doctrines over it…yet have we really waited until the Holy Spirit speaks the deeper truth to our hearts wherein change occurs that brings glory to God?
At the present time, Paul and I are in Central Arkansas, south of Little Rock. He is building a Medical Wellness Center which will house exercise rooms, racquetball courts, offices and a pharmacy. On this particular job, there have been soil issues. When the property was purchased, it was all woods. After clearing the lot and the digging began, they discovered that the top layer of soil was sand with rotted vegetation. The deeper layers were wet with clay and water that did not drain. But at a depth of about 5 feet, there was suitable clay to build upon.
And so began the process of taking out the bad soil and bringing in the new. This is a costly task where every truckload must be accounted for. And as Paul has many details to attend to each day, he hired me to check the trucks in and out, signing each ticket. Every day there are several dump trucks taking out the rotted soil, bringing in the good soil. The track hoe digging, heavy equipment moving, dumping, rearranging, building.
On a particular morning, I was sitting at the entrance to the job site waiting for trucks to arrive, when the bulldozer came over to the entrance. The operator began directing the dump trucks to specific spots to dump their load, then he would begin to rough in and shape the new road. The specifications called for an incline, grades and curves to allow water to drain without ponding. Old soil had already been removed so load after load of new soil was brought in. As well as the good soil, they brought in a product called BAB. BAB is a by-product of industry that uses coal. After coal is burned, BAB is what is left over and when mixed with water, it hardens. So BAB was brought in to be mixed with the good soil in some areas and in other areas it would lay right on top of the dirt to create a hard surface - as in roads and parking lots.
In this process, all the material that is replacing the old soil is installed in layers. And every layer, by itself, is prepared for the next layer to go on top. If the layers are not prepared one at a time, then the layer that finishes the top, even though it may seem hard and stable, will eventually break down because the underlying foundation wasn’t prepared to hold the layers above.
It was during this process that day that I really began to truly see and understand the parallel. Over the past several years, Paul and I have been in positions where we have felt shaken to our very foundation. What we once thought “was” has been re-evaluated and redefined. Old attitudes and habits, wounds and perceptions had to be dealt with; beliefs and doctrines needed God’s definition and renewal. And it came and comes through many different ways, through many different vehicles. And each one shook us, leaving us at first, bewildered, then humbled and in awe of how God works, and finally, changed.
So, that day, dump trucks came, load after load full of good soil. The bull dozer driver began roughing in and shaping the road according to the stakes with markers along the sides. He would build more in one area to create the incline and curves…load upon load the dump trucks rolled in…loud and slamming the tailgates as the dirt poured out…dust blowing everywhere…over in another area, a parking lot was being formed…the road grater rolled over and over, smoothing as he went…there was constant movement and change and pressure…load after load…day after day…forming…compacting…smoothing. As I sat watching this, a different vehicle came down the newly formed road. I literally felt the earth shaking and vibrating. What an odd sensation. The vehicle is called a sheep foot roller and it was compacting…vibrating…pressure, pressure, pressure…at one point the dust was getting bad…a water truck came, sprinkling water upon the dusty road…soothing…you could almost sense the relief of the dust now settled…and what got my attention the most was the vibrating earth…being shaken and formed…with each new layer the roller compacted and shook all the material together to make it hard…a new road formed under pressure…being readied for use…
He who has ears [to hear], let him be listening and let him consider and perceive and comprehend by hearing...
