_PLAIN GLASS_
"_They were fishers._"
--MATTHEW iv. 12-22.
And so our Lord went first to the fishing-boats and not to the schools.
Learning is apt to be proud and aggressive, and hostile to the
simplicities of the Spirit. There is nothing like plain glass for letting
in the light! And our Lord wanted transparent media, and so He went to the
simple fishermen on the beach. "God hath chosen the foolish things of the
world."
And by choosing labouring men our Master glorified labour. He Himself had
worn the workman's dress, and the garment which the King wears becomes
regal attire. Yes, the workingman, if he only knew it, is wearing the
imperial robe. He is one of the kinsmen of the Lord of Glory!
Our Lord took the fisherman's humble calling, and made it the symbol of
spiritual service. "_I will make you fishers of men._" And He will do the
same for thee and me. He will turn our daily labour into an apocalypse,
and through its ways and means He will make us wise in the ministry of the
kingdom. He will make the material the handmaid of the spiritual, and
through the letter He will lead us into the secret places of the soul.