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would call our attention to the loveliness of Christlike character. He
who has given such beauty to the blossoms desires far more that the
soul should be clothed with the beauty of the character of Christ.
Consider, says Jesus, how the lilies grow; how, springing from the
cold, dark earth, or from the mud of the river bed, the plants unfold
in loveliness and fragrance. Who would dream of the possibilities of
beauty in the rough brown bulb of the lily? But when the life of God,
hidden therein, unfolds at His call in the rain and the sunshine, men
marvel at the vision of grace and loveliness. Even so will the life of
God unfold in every human soul that will yield itself to the ministry
of His grace, which, free as the rain and the sunshine, comes with its
benediction to all. It is the word of God that creates the flowers, and
the same word will produce in you the graces of His Spirit.
God’s law is the law of love. He has surrounded you with beauty
to teach you that you are not placed on earth merely to delve for self,
to dig and build, to toil and spin, but to make life bright and joyous and
beautiful with the love of Christ—like the flowers, to gladden other
lives by the ministry of love.
Fathers and mothers, let your children learn from the flowers. Take
them with you into garden and field and under the leafy trees, and teach
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them to read in nature the message of God’s love. Let the thoughts of
Him be linked with bird and flower and tree. Lead the children to see
in every pleasant and beautiful thing an expression of God’s love for
them. Recommend your religion to them by its pleasantness. Let the
law of kindness be in your lips.
Teach the children that because of God’s great love their natures
may be changed and brought into harmony with His. Teach them that
He would have their lives beautiful with the graces of the flowers.
Teach them, as they gather the sweet blossoms, that He who made
the flowers is more beautiful than they. Thus the tendrils of their
hearts will be entwined about Him. He who is “altogether lovely” will
become to them as a daily companion and familiar friend, and their
lives will be transformed into the image of His purity.
“Seek ye first the kingdom of God.”—Matthew 6:33.
The people who listened to the words of Christ were still anxiously
watching for some announcement of the earthly kingdom. While Jesus