A man once purchased a vacant lot on which stood a gigantic
elm-tree.
So much did he admire the elm that when he erected his house he
built it around the trunk. He did not care to mutilate it or cut
it down, but desired that it should constantly exhale its aroma
and moisture in his drawing-room. The silence of its growth
and steady expansion would be a constant source of interest to
himself and to his friends. The opening in the roof was capped
to shut out the insect enemies and to shut in the fragrance.
When a cyclone swept over the village and the lightning flashed
around, the house had shelter and protection in the tree. Other
houses might fall, but not that one.
We are all builders of character. Whether that character will
stand the tests of life or not depends on whether we have built
Christ into our character or not. If He is in us a real and
living personality, we shall never fail. (Text.)
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