Chap. 6 - Other Lessons from
Seed-Sowing
From the work of seed sowing and the growth of the plant from the
seed, precious lessons may be taught in the family and the school. Let
the children and youth learn to recognize in natural things the working
of divine agencies, and they will be enabled to grasp by faith unseen
benefits. As they come to understand the wonderful work of God in
supplying the wants of His great family, and how we are to co-operate
with Him, they will have more faith in God, and will realize more of
His power in their own daily life.
God created the seed, as He created the earth, by His word. By His
word He gave it power to grow and multiply. He said, “Let the earth
bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding
fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth; and it was
so ... and God saw that it was good.” Genesis 1:11, 12. It is that word
which still causes the seed to grow. Every
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seed that sends up its green blade to the sunlight declares the
wonder-working power of that word uttered by Him who “spake, and
it was”; who “commanded, and it stood fast.” Psalm 33:9.
Christ taught His disciples to pray “Give us this day our daily
bread.” And pointing to the flowers He gave them the assurance, “If
God so clothe the grass of the field, ... shall He not much more clothe
you?” Matthew 6:11, 30. Christ is constantly working to answer this
prayer, and to make good this assurance. There is an invisible power
constantly at work as man’s servant to feed and to clothe him. Many
agencies our Lord employs to make the seed, apparently thrown away,
a living plant. And He supplies in due proportion all that is required
to perfect the harvest. In the beautiful words of the psalmist:
“Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it;
Thou greatly enrichest it;
The river of God is full of water;
Thou providest them corn when Thou hast so prepared
the earth.
Thou waterest her furrows abundantly;
Thou settlest the ridges thereof;
Thou makest it soft with showers;
Thou blessest the springing thereof.
Thou crownest the year with Thy goodness;
And Thy paths drop fatness.”
Psalm 65:9-11, R.V.*****
The material world is under God’s control. The laws of nature are
obeyed by nature. Everything speaks and acts the will of the Creator.
Cloud and sunshine, dew and rain, wind and storm, all are under the
supervision of God, and yield implicit obedience to His command. It
is in obedience to the law of God that the spire of grain bursts through
the ground, “first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the
ear.” Mark 4:28. These the Lord
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develops in their proper season because they do not resist His
working. And can it be that man, made in the image of God, endowed
with reason and speech, shall alone be unappreciative of His gifts and
disobedient to His will? Shall rational beings alone cause confusion
in our world?*****
In everything that tends to the sustenance of man is seen the
concurrence of divine and human effort. There can be no reaping
unless the human hand acts its part in the sowing of the seed. But
without the agencies which God provides in giving sunshine and
showers, dew and clouds, there would be no increase. Thus it is
in every business pursuit, in every department of study and science.
Thus it is in spiritual things, in the formation of the character, and in
every line of Christian work. We have a part to act, but we must have
the power of divinity to unite with us, or our efforts will be in vain.
Whenever man accomplishes anything, whether in spiritual or
in temporal lines, he should bear in mind that he does it through
co-operation with his Maker. There is great necessity for us to realize
our dependence on God. Too much confidence is placed in man, too
much reliance on human inventions. There is too little confidence
in the power which God stands ready to give. “We are laborers
together with God.” 1 Corinthians 3:9. Immeasurably inferior is
the part which the human agent sustains; but if he is linked with the
divinity of Christ, he can do all things through the strength that Christ
imparts.*****
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.” He who
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gave this parable created the tiny seed, gave it its vital properties, and
ordained the laws that govern its growth. And the truths which the
parable teaches were made a living reality in His own life. In both
His physical and His spiritual nature He followed the divine order of
growth illustrated by the plant, as He wishes all youth to do. Although
He was the Majesty of heaven, the King of glory, He became a babe
in Bethlehem, and for a time represented the helpless infant in its
mother’s care. In childhood He did the works of an obedient child. He
spoke and acted with the wisdom of a child and not of a man, honoring
His parents and carrying out their wishes in helpful ways, according
to the ability of a child. But at each stage of His development He was
perfect, with the simple, natural grace of a sinless life. The sacred
record says of His childhood, “The child grew, and waxed strong in
spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.” And
of His youth it is recorded, “Jesus increased in wisdom and stature,
and in favor with God and man.” Luke 2:40, 52.
The work of parents and teachers is here suggested. They should
aim so to cultivate the tendencies of the youth that at each stage of
their life they may represent the natural beauty appropriate to that
period, unfolding naturally, as do the plants in the garden.
Those children are most attractive who are natural, unaffected.
It is not wise to give them special notice, and repeat their clever
sayings before them. Vanity should not be encouraged by praising
their looks, their words, or their actions. Nor should they be dressed
in an expensive or showy manner. This encourages pride in them, and
awakens envy in the hearts of their companions.
The little ones should be educated in childlike simplicity.
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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. The children should not be forced into a
precocious maturity but should retain as long as possible the freshness
and grace of their early years.
The little children may be Christians, having an experience in
accordance with their years. This is all that God expects of them.
They need to be educated in spiritual things; and parents should
give them every advantage that they may form characters after the
similitude of the character of Christ.*****
In the laws of God in nature, effect follows cause with unerring
certainty. The reaping will testify as to what the sowing has been. The
slothful worker is condemned by his work. The harvest bears witness
against him. So in spiritual things: the faithfulness of every worker
is measured by the results of his work. The character of his work,
whether diligent or slothful, is revealed by the harvest. It is thus that
his destiny for eternity is decided.
Every seed sown produces a harvest of its kind. So it is in human
life. We all need to sow the seeds of compassion, sympathy, and love;
for we shall reap what we sow. Every characteristic of selfishness,
self-love, self-esteem, every act of self-indulgence, will bring forth a
like harvest. He who lives for self is sowing to the flesh, and of the
flesh he will reap corruption.
God destroys no man. Everyone who is destroyed will have
destroyed himself. Everyone who stifles the admonitions of
conscience is sowing the seeds of unbelief, and these will produce
a sure harvest. By rejecting
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the first warning from God, Pharaoh of old sowed the seeds of
obstinacy, and he reaped obstinacy. God did not compel him to
disbelieve. The seed of unbelief which he sowed produced a harvest
of its kind. Thus his resistance continued, until he looked upon his
devastated land, upon the cold, dead form of his first-born, and the
first-born of all in his house and of all the families in his kingdom,
until the waters of the sea closed over his horses and his chariots and
his men of war. His history is a fearful illustration of the truth of
the words that “whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”
Galatians 6:7. Did men but realize this, they would be careful what
seed they sow.
As the seed sown produces a harvest, and this in turn is sown, the
harvest is multiplied. In our relation to others, this law holds true.
Every act, every word, is a seed that will bear fruit. Every deed of
thoughtful kindness, of obedience, or of self-denial, will reproduce
itself in others, and through them in still others. So every act of
envy, malice, or dissension is a seed that will spring up in a “root
of bitterness” (Hebrews 12:15), whereby many shall be defiled. And
how much larger number will the “many” poison. 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
lesson of seed sowing. The Lord says, “Blessed are ye that sow beside
all waters.” Isaiah 32:20. “This I say, He which soweth sparingly
shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifu
