evidence that it has taken root; but afterward, as the Spirit of God
breathes on the soul, the hidden seed springs up, and at last brings
forth fruit. In our life-work we know not which shall prosper, this or
that. This question it is not for us to settle. “In the morning sow thy
seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand.”[127] God’s great
covenant declares that “while the earth remaineth, seed-time and
harvest ... shall not cease.”[128] In the confidence of this promise the
husbandman tills and sows. Not less confidently are we, in the spiritual
sowing, to labor, trusting His assurance: “So shall My word be that
goeth forth out of My mouth; it shall not return unto Me void, but it
shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing
whereto I sent it.” “He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious
seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves
with him.”[129]
The germination of the seed represents the beginning of spiritual life,
and the development of the plant is a figure of the development of
character. There can be no life without growth. The plant must either
grow or die. As its growth is silent and imperceptible, but continuous,
so is the growth of character. At every stage of development our life
may be perfect; yet if God’s purpose for us is fulfilled, there will be
constant advancement.
[Sidenote: _Conditions of Growth_]
The plant grows by receiving that which God has provided to sustain its
life. So spiritual growth is attained through co-operation with divine
agencies. As the plant takes root in the soil, so we are to take root in
Christ. As the plant receives the sunshine, the dew, and the rain, so
are we to receive the Holy Spirit. If our hearts are stayed upon Christ,
He will come unto us “as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto
the earth.” As the Sun of Righteousness, He will arise upon us “with
healing in His wings.” We shall “grow as the lily.” We shall “revive as
the corn, and grow as the vine.”[130]
[Sidenote: _Fruit-Bearing_]
The wheat develops, “first the blade, then the ear, after that the full
corn in the ear.”[131] The object of the husbandman in the sowing of the
seed and the culture of the plant, is the production of grain,—bread for
the hungry, and seed for future harvests. So the divine Husbandman looks
for a harvest. He is seeking to reproduce Himself in the hearts and
lives of His followers, that through them He may be reproduced in other
hearts and lives.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: _A Lesson in Child-Training_]
[Sidenote: _Natural Development_]
The gradual development of the plant from the seed is an object-lesson
in child-training. There is “first the blade, then the ear, after that
the full corn in the ear.”[131] He who gave this parable created the
tiny seed, gave it its vital properties, and ordained the laws that
govern its growth. And the truths taught by the parable were made a
reality in His own life. He, the Majesty of heaven, the King of glory,
became a babe in Bethlehem, and for a time represented the helpless
infant in its mother’s care. In childhood He spoke and acted as a child,
honoring His parents, and carrying out their wishes in helpful ways. But
from the first dawning of intelligence He was constantly growing in
grace and in a knowledge of truth.
Parents and teachers should aim so to cultivate the tendencies of the
youth that at each stage of life they may represent the beauty
appropriate to that period, unfolding naturally, as do the plants in the
garden.
[Sidenote: _Simplicity_]
The little ones should be educated in childlike simplicity. They should
be trained to be content with the small, helpful duties and the
pleasures and experiences natural to their years. Childhood answers to
the blade in the parable, and the blade has a beauty peculiarly its own.
Children should not be forced into a precocious maturity, but as long as
possible should retain the freshness and grace of their early years. The
more quiet and simple the life of the child,—the more free from
artificial excitement and the more in harmony with nature,—the more
favorable it is to physical and mental vigor and to spiritual strength.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: _The Miracle of the Harvest_]
In the Saviour’s miracle of feeding the five thousand is illustrated the
working of God’s power in the production of the harvest. Jesus draws
aside the veil from the world of nature, and reveals the creative energy
that is constantly exercised for our good. In multiplying the seed cast
into the ground, He who multiplied the loaves is working a miracle every
day. It is by a miracle that He constantly feeds millions from earth’s
harvest-fields. Men are called upon to co-operate with Him in the care
of the grain and the preparation of the loaf, and because of this they
lose sight of the divine agency. The working of His power is ascribed to
natural causes or to human instrumentality, and too often His gifts are
perverted to selfish uses, and made a curse instead of a blessing. God
is seeking to change all this. He desires that our dull senses shall be
quickened to discern His merciful kindness, that His gifts may be to us
the blessing that He intended.
[Sidenote: _Partakers of the Life of God_]
It is the word of God, the impartation of His life, that gives life to
the seed; and of that life, we, in eating the grain, become partakers.
This God desires us to discern; He desires that even in receiving our
daily bread we may recognize His agency, and may be brought into closer
fellowship with Him.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: _We Reap What We Sow_]
[Sidenote: _Life’s Harvest, Character_]
By the laws of God in nature, effect follows cause with unvarying
certainty. The reaping testifies to the sowing. Here no pretense is
tolerated. Men may deceive their fellow-men, and may receive praise and
compensation for service which they have not rendered. But in nature
there can be no deception. On the unfaithful husbandman the harvest
passes sentence of condemnation. And in the highest sense this is true
also in the spiritual realm. It is in appearance, not in reality, that
evil succeeds. The child who plays truant from school, the youth who is
slothful in his studies, the clerk or apprentice who fails of serving
the interests of his employer, the man in any business or profession who
is untrue to his highest responsibilities, may flatter himself that, so
long as the wrong is concealed, he is gaining an advantage. But not so;
he is cheating himself. The harvest of life is character, and it is this
that determines destiny, both for this life and for the life to come.
The harvest is a reproduction of the seed sown. Every seed yields fruit
“after its kind.” So it is with the traits of character we cherish.
Selfishness, self-love, self-esteem, self-indulgence, reproduce
themselves, and the end is wretchedness and ruin. “He that soweth to his
flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the
Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.”[132] Love, sympathy,
and kindness yield fruitage of blessing, a harvest that is imperishable.
[Sidenote: _Increase from Sowing_]
In the harvest the seed is multiplied. A single grain of wheat,
increased by repeated sowings, would cover a whole land with golden
sheaves. So widespread may be the influence of a single life, of even a
single act.
What deeds of love the memory of that alabaster box broken for Christ’s
anointing has through the long centuries prompted! What countless gifts
that contribution, by a poor unnamed widow, of “two mites, which make a
farthing,”[133] has brought to the Saviour’s cause!
* * * * *
[Sidenote: “_Freely Give_”]
The lesson of seed-sowing teaches liberality. “He which soweth sparingly
shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap
also bountifully.”[134]
The Lord says, “Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters.”[135] To sow
beside all waters means to give wherever our help is needed. This will
not tend to poverty. “He which soweth bountifully shall reap also
bountifully.” By casting it away the sower multiplies his seed. So by
imparting we increase our blessings. God’s promise assures a
sufficiency, that we may continue to give.
More than this: as we impart the blessings of this life, gratitude in
the recipient prepares the heart to receive spiritual truth, and a
harvest is produced unto life everlasting.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: _Life through Death_]
By the casting of grain into the earth, the Saviour represents His
sacrifice for us. “Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die,”
He says, “it abideth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much
fruit.”[136] Only through the sacrifice of Christ, the Seed, could fruit
be brought forth for the kingdom of God. In accordance with the law of
the vegetable kingdom, life is the result of His death.
So with all who bring forth fruit as workers together with Christ:
self-love, self-interest, must perish; the life must be cast into the
furrow of the world’s need. But the law of self-sacrifice is the law of
self-preservation. The husbandman preserves his grain by casting it
away. So the life that will be preserved is the life that is freely
given in service to God and man.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: _A Symbol of the Resurrection_]
The seed dies, to spring forth into new life. In this we are taught the
lesson of the resurrection. Of the human body laid away to moulder in
the grave, God has said: “It is sown in corruption; it is raised in
incorruption: it is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory: it is sown
in weakness; it is raised in power.”[137]
[Sidenote: _Nature Study Made Practical_]
As parents and teachers try to teach these lessons, the work should be
made practical. Let the children themselves prepare the soil and sow the
seed. As they work, the parent or teacher can explain the garden of the
heart, with the good or bad seed sown there, and that as the garden must
be prepared for the natural seed, so the heart must be prepared for the
seed of truth. As the seed is cast into the ground, they can teach the
lesson of Christ’s death; and as the blade springs up, the truth of the
resurrection. As the plant grows, the correspondence between the natural
and the spiritual sowing may be continued.
The youth should be instructed in a similar way. From the tilling of the
soil, lessons may constantly be learned. No one settles upon a raw piece
of land with the expectation that it will at once yield a harvest.
Diligent, persevering labor must be put forth in the preparation of the
soil, the sowing of the seed, and the culture of the crop. So it must be
in the spiritual sowing. The garden of the heart must be cultivated. The
soil must be broken up by repentance. The evil growths that choke the
good grain must be uprooted. As soil once overgrown with thorns can be
reclaimed only by diligent labor, so the evil tendencies of the heart
can be overcome only by earnest effort in the name and strength of
Christ.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: _Obedience to Law_]
[Sidenote: _Development of Character_]
In the cultivation of the soil the thoughtful worker will find that
treasures little dreamed of are opening up before him. No one can
succeed in agriculture or gardening without attention to the laws
involved. The special needs of every variety of plant must be studied.
Different varieties require different soil and cultivation, and
compliance with the laws governing each is the condition of success. The
attention required in transplanting, that not even a root-fiber shall be
crowded or misplaced, the care of the young plants, the pruning and
watering, the shielding from frost at night and sun by day, keeping out
weeds, disease, and insect-pests, the training and arranging, not only
teach important lessons concerning the development of character, but the
work itself is a means of development. In cultivating carefulness,
patience, attention to detail, obedience to law, it imparts a most
essential training. The constant contact with the mystery of life and
the loveliness of nature, as well as the tenderness called forth in
ministering to these beautiful objects of God’s creation, tends to
quicken the mind and refine and elevate the character; and the lessons
taught prepare the worker to deal more successfully with other minds.
_Other Object Lessons_
“WHOSO IS WISE, AND WILL OBSERVE
THESE THINGS, EVEN THEY SHALL
UNDERSTAND THE LOVING-KINDNESS
OF THE LORD”
[Sidenote: _The Ministry of Healing_]
God’s healing power runs all through nature. If a tree is cut, if a
human being is wounded or breaks a bone, nature begins at once to repair
the injury. Even before the need exists, the healing agencies are in
readiness; and as soon as a part is wounded, every energy is bent to the
work of restoration. So it is in the spiritual realm. Before sin created
the need, God had provided the remedy. Every soul that yields to
temptation is wounded, bruised, by the adversary; but wherever there is
sin, there is the Saviour. It is Christ’s work “to heal the
broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, ... to set at
liberty them that are bruised.”[138]
[Sidenote: _A Suggestive Figure_]
[Sidenote: _Only Love Can Restore_]
In this work we are to co-operate. “If a man be overtaken in a
fault, ... restore such a one.”[139] The word here translated “restore”
means to put in joint, as a dislocated bone. How suggestive the figure!
He who falls into error or sin is thrown out of relation to everything
about him. He may realize his error, and be filled with remorse; but he
can not recover himself. He is in confusion and perplexity, worsted and
helpless. He is to be reclaimed, healed, re-established. “Ye which are
spiritual, restore such a one.” Only the love that flows from the heart
of Christ can heal. Only he in whom that love flows, even as the sap in
the tree or the blood in the body, can restore the wounded soul.
Love’s agencies have wonderful power, for they are divine. The soft
answer that “turneth away wrath,” the love that “suffereth long, and is
kind,” the charity that “covereth a multitude of sins,”[140]—would we
learn the lesson, with what power for healing would our lives be gifted!
How life would be transformed, and the earth become a very likeness and
foretaste of heaven!
These precious lessons may be so simply taught as to be understood, even
by little children. The heart of the child is tender and easily
impressed; and when we who are older become “as little children;”[141]
when we learn the simplicity and gentleness and tender love of the
Saviour, we shall not find it difficult to touch the hearts of the
little ones, and teach them love’s ministry of healing.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: _Perfection in Little Things_]
Perfection exists in the least as well as in the greatest of the works
of God. The hand that hung the worlds in space is the hand that fashions
the flowers of the field. Examine under the microscope the smallest and
commonest of wayside blossoms, and note in all its parts the exquisite
beauty and completeness. So in the humblest lot true excellence may be
found; the commonest tasks, wrought with loving faithfulness, are
beautiful in God’s sight. Conscientious attention to the little things
will make us workers together with Him, and win for us His commendation
who seeth and knoweth all.
[Sidenote: _The Rainbow_]
The rainbow spanning the heavens with its arch of light is a token of
“the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature.”[142]
And the rainbow encircling the throne on high is also a token to God’s
children of His covenant of peace.
As the bow in the cloud results from the union of sunshine and shower,
so the bow above God’s throne represents the union of His mercy and His
justice. To the sinful but repentant soul God says, Live thou; “I have
found a ransom.”[143]
“As I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the
earth, so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke
thee. For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but My
kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of My
peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee.”[144]
* * * * *
[Sidenote: _The Stars_]
The stars also have a message of good cheer for every human being. In
those hours that come to all, when the heart is faint, and temptation
presses sore; when obstacles seem insurmountable, life’s aims impossible
of achievement, its fair promises like apples of Sodom, where, then, can
such courage and steadfastness be found as in that lesson which God has
bidden us learn from the stars in their untroubled course?
[Sidenote: “_Not One Faileth_”]
[Sidenote: “_I Will Help Thee_”]
“Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things,
that bringeth out their host by number; He calleth them all by names by
the greatness of His might, for that He is strong in power; not one
faileth. Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid
from the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from my God? Hast thou not
known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the
Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there
is no searching of His understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and
to them that have no might He increaseth strength.” “Fear thou not; for
I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen
thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand
of My righteousness.” “I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand,
saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.”[145]
* * * * *
[Sidenote: _The Palm-Tree_]
The palm-tree, beaten by the scorching sun and the fierce sand-storm,
stands green and flourishing and fruitful in the midst of the desert.
Its roots are fed by living springs. Its crown of verdure is seen afar
over the parched, desolate plain; and the traveler, ready to die, urges
his failing steps to the cool shade and the life-giving water.
The tree of the desert is a symbol of what God means the life of His
children in this world to be. They are to guide weary souls, full of
unrest, and ready to perish in the desert of sin, to the living water.
They are to point their fellow-men to Him who gives the invitation, “If
any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink.”[146]
* * * * *
[Sidenote: _River and Brook_]
[Sidenote: _Unrecognized Toilers_]
The wide, deep river, that offers a highway for the traffic and travel
of nations, is valued as a world-wide benefit; but what of the little
rills that help to form this noble stream? Were it not for them, the
river would disappear. Upon them its very existence depends. So men
called to lead in some great work are honored as if its success were due
to them alone; but that success required the faithful co-operation of
humbler workers almost without number,—workers of whom the world knows
nothing. Tasks uncommended, labor without recognition, is the lot of
most of the world’s toilers. And in such a lot many are filled with
discontent. They feel that life is wasted. But the little rill that
makes its noiseless way through grove and meadow, bearing health and
fertility and beauty, is as useful in its way as the broad river. And in
contributing to the river’s life, it helps achieve that which alone it
could never have accomplished.
The lesson is one needed by many. Talent is too much idolized, and
station too much coveted. There are too many who will do nothing unless
they are recognized as leaders; too many who must receive praise, or
they have no interest to labor. What we need to learn is faithfulness in
making the utmost use of the powers and opportunities we have, and
contentment in the lot to which Heaven assigns us.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: _The Little Creatures of the Earth_]
“Ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the
air, and they shall tell thee; ... and the fishes of the sea shall
declare unto thee.” “Go to the ant; ... consider her ways.” “Behold the
birds.” “Consider the ravens.”[147]
[Sidenote: _A Lesson of Trust_]
We are not merely to tell the child about these creatures of God’s. The
animals themselves are to be his teachers. The ants teach lessons of
patient industry, of perseverance in surmounting obstacles, of
providence for the future. And the birds are teachers of the sweet
lesson of trust. Our heavenly Father provides for them; but they must
gather the food, they must build their nests, and rear their young.
Every moment they are exposed to enemies that seek to destroy them. Yet
how cheerily they go about their work! how full of joy are their little
songs!
How beautiful the psalmist’s description of God’s care for the creatures
of the woods,—
“The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats;
And the rocks for the conies.”[148]
He sends the springs to run among the hills, where the birds have their
habitation, and “sing among the branches.”[148] All the creatures of the
woods and hills are a part of His great household. He opens His hand,
and satisfies the desire of every living thing.[148]
* * * * *
[Sidenote: _The Eagle_]
[Sidenote: _Above the Clouds_]
The eagle of the Alps is sometimes beaten down by the tempest into the
narrow defiles of the mountains. Storm-clouds shut in this mighty bird
of the forest, their dark masses separating her from the sunny heights
where she has made her home. Her efforts to escape seem fruitless. She
dashes to and fro, beating the air with her strong wings, and waking the
mountain echoes with her cries. At length, with a note of triumph, she
darts upward, and, piercing the clouds, is once more in the clear
sunlight, with the darkness and tempest far beneath. So we may be
surrounded with difficulties, discouragement, and darkness. Falsehood,
calamity, injustice, shut us in. There are clouds that we can not
dispel. We battle with circumstances in vain. There is one, and but one,
way of escape. The mists and fogs cling to the earth; beyond the clouds
God’s light is shining. Into the sunlight of His presence we may rise on
the wings of faith.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: _Other Illustrations_]
Many are the lessons that may thus be learned. Self-reliance, from the
tree that, growing alone on plain or mountainside, strikes down its
roots deep into the earth, and in its rugged strength defies the
tempest. The power of early influence, from the gnarled, shapeless
trunk, bent as a sapling, to which no earthly power can afterward
restore its lost symmetry. The secret of a holy life, from the
water-lily, that, on the bosom of some slimy pool, surrounded by weeds
and rubbish, strikes down its channeled stem to the pure sands beneath,
and, drawing thence its life, lifts up its fragrant blossoms to the
light in spotless purity.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: _Teach Children to Observe_]
Thus while the children and youth gain a knowledge of facts from
teachers and text-books, let them learn to draw lessons and discern
truth for themselves. In their gardening, question them as to what they
learn from the care of their plants. As they look on a beautiful
landscape, ask them why God clothed the fields and woods with such
lovely and varied hues. Why was not all colored a somber brown? When
they gather the flowers, lead them to think why He spared us the beauty
of these wanderers from Eden. Teach them to notice the evidences
everywhere manifest in nature of God’s thought for us, the wonderful
adaptation of all things to our need and happiness.
He alone who recognizes in nature his Father’s handiwork, who in the
richness and beauty of the earth reads the Father’s handwriting,—he
alone learns from the things of nature their deepest lessons, and
receives their highest ministry. Only he can fully appreciate the
significance of hill and vale, river and sea, who looks upon them as an
expression of the thought of God, a revelation of the Creator.
[Sidenote: _Nature a Key to the Bible_]
Many illustrations from nature are used by the Bible writers, and as we
observe the things of the natural world, we shall be enabled, under the
guiding of the Holy Spirit, more fully to understand the lessons of
God’s word. It is thus that nature becomes a key to the treasure-house
of the word.
[Sidenote: _Study Similitudes_]