Ploughing, which is preparation;
Sowing, or casting in germinating principles;
Threshing, which is effected by tribulation, a word which means driving
a 'tribulum' or threshing-sedge over ears of grain.
So sorrow is indispensable for our perfecting.
By it earthly affections are winnowed away, and our dependence on God
increased. A certain refinement of spirit results, like the pallor on
the face of a chronic invalid, which has a delicate beauty unattainted
by ruddy health. A capacity for sympathy, too, is often the result of
one's own trials. Rightly borne, they tend to bend or break the will,
and they teach how great it is to suffer and be strong.
But sorrow is not enough; joy is indispensable too. The crop is
threshed in tribulation, but is grown mostly in sunshine. Calm,
uneventful hours, continuous possession of blessings, have a ministry
not less than afflictions have. The corn in the furrow, waving in the
western wind, and with golden sunlight among its golden stems, is
preparing for the loaf no less than when bound in bundles and lying on
the threshing-floor, or cut and bruised by sharp teeth of dray or heavy
hoofs of oxen, or blows of swinging flails.
So do not suppose that sorrow is the only instrument for perfecting
character, and see that you do not miss the sanctifying and ripening
effect of your joyous hours.
Again, different types of character require different modes of
treatment. In the parable, 'the fitches' are sown in one fashion, and
'the cummin' in another the 'wheat' and 'barley' in still another; and
similar variety marks the methods of separating the grain from the
husk, one kind of crop being threshed another having a wheel turned
upon it. Thus each of us gets the kind of joys and pains that will have
most effect on us. God knows where is the tenderest spot, and makes no
mistakes in His dealing. He sends us 'afflictions sorted, sorrows of
all sizes.'
Let us see that we trust to His loving and wise adaptation of our
trials to our temperaments and needs. Let us see that we never let
clouds obscure the clearness of our perception, or, failing perception,
the serenity of our trust, that all things work together, and all work
for our highest good--our being made like our Lord. We should less
often complain of the mysteries of Providence if we had learned the
meaning of Isaiah's parable.