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06 - Other Lessons from Seed-Sowing - Christ's Object Lessons · Wisdom of the Ages Library

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Chapter six. Other lessons from seed sowing, from the work of seed sowing,
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in the growth of the plant from the seed. Precious lessons may be
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taught in the family and in the school. Let the children in youth learn
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to recognize in natural things the working of divine agencies, and they will be
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enabled to grasp by faith unseen benefits. As they come to understand the wonderful
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work of God in supplying the wants of his great family, and how we
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are to co operate with him, they will have more faith in God and
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will realize more of his power in their own daily life. God created the
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seed, as he created the earth, by his word. By his word,
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he gave it power to grow and to multiply. He said, let
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the earth bring forth grass, and the herb yielding seed, and the fruit
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tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself upon the earth.
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And it was so, and God saw that it was good. It
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is that word which still causes the seeds to grow. Every seed that sends
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up its green blade. The sunlight declares the wonder working power of that word
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uttered by him who spake, And it was who commanded, and it stood
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fast. Christ taught his disciples to pray, give us this day our daily
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bread, and pointing to the flowers, he gave them the assurance, if
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God so clothes the grass of the field, shall he not much more clothe
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you. Christ is constantly working to answer this prayer and to make good his
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assurance. There is an invisible power constantly at work as man's servant, to
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feed and to clothe him. Many agencies our Lord employs to make the seed
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apparently thrown away a living plant, and he supplies in due proportion all that
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is required to perfect the harvest. In the beautiful words of the Psalmist,
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Thou visitest the earth and waterest it. Thou greatly enrichest it. The river
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of God is full of water. Thou providest them corn. When thou hast
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so prepared the earth, Thou waterest her furrows abundantly. Thou settlest the ridges
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thereof, Thou makest it soft with showers. Thou blessest the springing thereof.
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Thou crownest the year with thy goodness, and thy paths drop fatness. The
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material world is under God's control. The laws of nature are obeyed by nature.
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Everything speaks and acts the will of the creator. Cloud and sunshine,
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dew and rain, wind and storm, all are under the supervision of God
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and yield implicit obedience to his command. It is in obedience to the law
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of God that the spire of grain bursts through the ground, first the blade,
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then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. These
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the Lord develops in their proper season, because they do not resist His working.
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And can it be that man made in the image of God, endowed
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with reason and speech, shall alone be unappreciative of his gifts and disobedient to
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His will? Shall rational beings alone cause confusion in our world? In everything
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that tends to the sustenance of man is seen the concurrence of divine and human
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effort. There can be no reaping unless the human hand acts its part in
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the sowing of the seed. But without the agencies which God provides in giving
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sunshine and showers do in clouds, there would be no increase. Thus it
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is in every business pursuit, in every department of study, in science,
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Thus it is in spiritual things, in the formation of character, and in
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every line of Christian work. We have a part to act, But we
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must have the power of Divinity to unite with us, or our efforts will
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be in vain. Whenever man accomplishes anything, whether in spiritual or in temporal
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lines, he should bear in mind that he does it through cooperation with his
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Maker. There is great necessity for us to realize our dependence on God.
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Too much confidence is placed in man, too much reliance on human inventions.
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There is too little confidence in the power which God stands ready to give.
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We are laborers together with God. Immeasurably inferior is the part which the human
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agent sustains. But if he is linked with the divinity of Christ, he
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can do all things through the strength that Christ imparts. The gradual development of
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the plant from the seed is an object lesson in child training. There is
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first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the
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ear. He who gave this parable created the tiny seed, gave it its
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vital properties, and ordained the laws that govern its growth. And the truths
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which the Parable teaches were made a living reality in his own life. In
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both his physical and his spiritual nature, he followed the divine order of growth
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illustrated by the plant, as he wishes all youth to do. Although he
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was the majesty of Heaven, the King of Glory. He became a babe
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in Bethlehem and for a time represented the helpless infant in its mother's care.
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In childhood he did the works of an obedient child. He spoke and acted
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with wisdom of a child and not of a man, honoring his parents and
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carrying out their w wishes in helpful ways according to the ability of a child.
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But at each stage of his development he was perfect, with the simple
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natural grace of a sinless life. The Sacred Record says of his childhood,
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the child grew and waxed, strong in spirit, filled with wisdom, and
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the grace of God was upon him, and of his youth it is recorded
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Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and with man.
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The work of parents and teachers is here suggested. They should aim so
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to cultivate the tendencies of the youth, that at each stage of their life
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they may represent the natural beauty appropriate to that period, unfolding naturally as do
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plants in the garden. Those children are most attractive who are natural unaffected.
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It is not wise to give them special notice and repeat their clever sayings before
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them. Vanity should not be encouraged by praising their looks, their words,
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or their actions, nor should they be dressed in an expensive or showy manner.
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This incurges pride in them and awakens envy in the hearts of their companions.
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The little ones should be educated in childlike simplicity. They should be trained
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to be content with the small, helpful duties and the pleasures and experiences natural
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to their years. Childhood answers to the blade in the parable, and the
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blade has a beauty peculiarly of its own. The children should not be forced
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into precocious maturity, but should retain as long as possible, the freshness and
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grace of their early years. The little children may be Christians, having an
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experience in accordance with their years. This is all that God expects of them.
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They need to be educated in spiritual things, and parents should give them
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every advantage that they may form characters after the similitude of the character of Christ
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in the laws of God. In nature, effect follows cause with unerring certainty.
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The reaping will testify as to what the sowing has been. The slothful
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worker is condemned by his work. The harvest bears witness against him. So
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in spiritual things, the faithfulness of every worker is measured by the results of
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his work. The character of his work, whether diligent or slothful, is
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revealed by the harvest. It is thus that his destiny for eternity is decided.
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Every seed sown produces a harvest of its kind. So it is in
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the human life we all need to sow the seeds of compassion, sympathy,
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and love, for we shall reap what we sow. Every characteristic of selfishness,
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self love, self esteem, every act of self indulgence will bring forth
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a like harvest. He who lives for self is sowing to the flesh,
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and of the flesh he will reap. Corruption. God destroys no man.
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Every one who is destroyed will have destroyed himself. Everyone who stifles the admonitions
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of conscience is sowing the seeds of unbelief, and these will produce a sure
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harvest. By rejecting the first warning from My God, Pharaoh of Old sowed
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the seeds of obstinacy, and he reaped obstinacy. God did not compel him
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to disbelieve the seed of unbelief, which he sowed produced a harvest of its
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kind. Thus his resistance continued until he looked upon his devastated land, upon
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the cold, dead form of his first born, and the first born of
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all in his house, and of all the families in his kingdom, until
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the waters of the sea closed over his horses and his chariots and his men
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of war. His history is a fearful illustration of the truth of the words,
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that whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. Did men
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but realize this, they would be careful what seed they sow, as the
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seed sown produces a harvest, and this in turn is sown. The harvest
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is multiplied. In our relation to others. This law holds true every act,
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every word is a seed that will bear fruit. Every deed of thoughtful
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kindness, of obedience, or of self denial will reproduce itself in others,
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and through them in still others. So every act of envy, malice,
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or dissension is a seed that will spring up in a root of bitterness,
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whereby many shall be defiled, and how much larger number will the many poison.
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Thus the sowing of good and evil goes on for time and for eternity.
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Liberality, both in spiritual and in temporal things, is taught in the
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lesson of seed sowing. The Lord says, blessed are ye that so beside
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all waters. This I say, he which soeth sparingly shall reap also sparingly,
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And he which soeth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. To so beside all
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waters means a continual imparting of God's gifts. It means giving wherever the cause
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of God or the needs of humanity demand our aid. This will not tend
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to poverty. He which soeth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. The sower multiplies
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his seed by casting it away. So it is with those who are faithful
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in distributing God's gifts. By imparting, they increase their blessings. God has
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promised them a sufficiency that they may continue to give. Give, And it
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shall be given unto you. Good measure, pressed down and shaken together and
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running over shall men give into your bosom. And more than this is wrapped
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up in the sowing and reaping. As we distribute God's temporal blessings, the
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evidence of our love and sympathy awakens in the receiver. Gratitude and thanksgiving to
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God. The soil of the heart is prepared to receive the seeds of spiritual
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truth, and he who ministers seed to the sower will cause the seed to
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germinate and bear fruit unto eternal life. By the casting of the grain into
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the soil, Christ represents the sacrifice of himself for our redemption. Except a
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corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, he says, it abideth
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alone. But if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. So the
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death of Christ will result in fruit for the Kingdom of God, in accordance
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with the law of the vegetable kingdom. Life will be the result of his
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death, and all who would bring forth fruit as workers together with Christ,
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must first fall into the ground and die. The life must be cast into
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the furrow of the world's need. Self love, self interest must perish.
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But the law of self sacrifice is the law of self preservation. The seed
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buried in the ground produces fruit, and in turn this is planted. Thus
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the harvest is multiplied. The husbandman preserves his grain by casting it away.
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So in human life, to give is to live. The life that will
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be preserved is the life that is freely given in service to God and Man.
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Those who, for Christ's sake sacrifice their life in this world will keep
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it unto life eternal. The seed dies to spring forth into new life,
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and in this we are taught the lesson of resurrection. All who love God
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will live again in the eden above. Of the human body laid away to
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molder in the grave. God has said, it is sown into corruption,
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and it is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor and raised in
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glory. It is sown in weakness, and it is raised in power.
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Such are a few of the many lessons taught by nature's living parable of the
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sower and the seed. As parents and teachers try to teach these lessons,
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the work should be made practical. Let the children themselves prepare the soil and
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sow the seed. As they work, the parent or teacher can explain the
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garden of the heart with the good or bad seed sown there, and that
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as the garden must be prepared for the natural seed, so the heart must
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be prepared for the seed of truth. As the seed is cast into the
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ground, they can teach the lesson of Christ's death, and as the blade
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springs up the truth of the resurrection. As the plants grow, the correspondence
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between the natural and the spiritual sowing may be continued. The youth should be
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instructed in a similar way. They should be taught to till the soil.
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It would be well if there were connected with every school lands for cultivation.
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Such lands should be regarded as God's own school room. Thing of nature should
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be looked upon as a lessoned book which his children are to study, and
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from which they may obtain knowledge as to the culture of the soul. In
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tilling the soil, in disciplining, and in subduing the land, lessons may
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constantly be learned. Not one would think of settling upon a raw piece of
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land expecting it to at once yield a harvest. Earnestness, diligence, and
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persevering labor are to be put forth in treating the soil preparatory to sowing the
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seed. So it is in the spiritual work in the human heart. Those
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who would be benefited by the tilling of the soil must go forth with the
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word of God in their hearts. They will then find the fallow ground of
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the heart broken by the softening, subduing influence of the Holy Spirit. Unless
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hard work is bestowed on the soil, it will not yield a harvest.
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So with the soil of the heart, the spirit of God must work upon
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it to refine and discipline it before it can bring forth fruit to the glory
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of God. The soil will not produce its riches when worked by imp It
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needs thoughtful daily attention. It must be plowed often and deep, with a
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view to keeping out the weeds that take nourishment from the good seed planted.
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Thus, those who plow and so prepare for the harvest. None needs stand
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in the field amid the sad wreck of their hopes. The blessing of the
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Lord will rest upon those who thus work the land, learning spiritual lessons from
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nature. In cultivating the soil, the worker knows little what treasures will open
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up before him. When he is not to despise the instruction he may gather
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from minds that have had an experience, and from the information that intelligent men
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may impart. He should gather lessons for himself. This is part of his
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training. The cultivation of the soil will prove an education to the soul.
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He who causes the seed to spring up who tends it day and night,
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who gives it power to develop, is the author of our being, the
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King of Heaven, and he exercises still greater care and interest in behalf of
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his children. While the humans so is planting the seed to sustain our earthly
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life, the divine sower will plant into the soul seed that will bring forth
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fruit unto life everlasting. End of Chapter six