Agriculture, Marriage, and God's Word

In reading Wendell Berry and other writers on agriculture and land use in recent months, I have been struck by the analogy drawn between marriage and the land. The marriage relationship is not one to be easily disposed of. Similarly, our relation to the land should not be a temporary one or a consumer-oriented one. My relationship with my wife must be one that works today and forever. If not, then like those who use up the land and then move on, we’re not creating a sustainable relationship.
Some people do not nourish their relationships. They’re detached from the land or the spouse, allowing the relationship to wither and die. Others see the relationship as something that should serve and nourish them. They use up the land or the spouse, eventually destroying it.
I wonder if the same sort of analogy might be made in our relationship to God’s Word. There are those who ignore the Word. In that case, it does not wither and die, but their relationship never amounts to anything. Others see God’s Word as nothing more than something to be used. They grab prooftexts to shore up their pet positions. Or they mine the Word as something to satisfy their needs. Neither of these is a sustainable, nourishing position.
A true relationship between a person and God’s Word is one that nourishes the person and glorifies God’s Word. The Word is allowed to bring forth fruit and change the person. This idea is just an idea, but with a bit of development. It might be a good idea. Let’s see where it goes.