My friend Vince and I took a trip to go fossil hunting. It’s been something I’ve wanted to do since I was young. Our first stop was a trilobite quarry in Utah.
The trilobite fossils were embedded in shale which is extremely hard and it took a lot of force to crack the rock open. A couple of hours of exhausting work and we had enough, we were ready to go. We did manage to get a few good fossils.
Our next adventure took us to Wyoming in search of fossils embedded in sandstone. Cracking open the sandstone was so much easier than the shale. A few hammer strikes and the sandstone would split open to reveal a myriad of life. We collected different sizes and types of fish, algae blooms, fish scales, vegetation and even fish droppings. Digging at this site was the highlight of my trip and my office is now adorned with what I collected.
A few months later I made a new sandstone friend. Jed and I had breakfast together and our conversation was all about what Jesus was doing in our lives. We would gently tap each other and the goodness of Christ would be revealed much like the fossils in the sandstone. It was such a joy to get to know Jed. We exchanged phone numbers and hopefully we will stay connected. I felt refreshed and excited after fellowship with my new brother.
A few hours later I had lunch with my shale friend. The experience was the exact opposite of what I experienced earlier. My friend believes in Christ but there is little fruit that is visible. Suggestions I made, about how he can experience Christ in a deeper way, had no visible impact on him. He seemed completely self centered. I came away spiritually exhausted.
We can all identify people in our lives who are shale or sandstone. Do you ever wonder why Christ followers can be so different? It’s important to examine our hearts to see if there may be areas in our life that still need to be crucified. Do we confess Christ is Lord but still have pockets of our lives that are off limits to Christ? Living for ourselves just hardens us up. Galations 2:20 says…
I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Our willingness to die and allow Christ to live in our lives will truly transform us from shale to sandstone.
One reply on “Shale and Sandstone”
From rock to shale to sandstone to hopefully and gracefully moldable clay?? Maybe nine day we’ll be jello 😃 Good words my friend. Let the soil/soul adventures with the King continue!!