Chapter 278—A Mysterious Power
All that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which
the Lord hath blessed.
Isaiah 61:9
.
In the plan of redemption there are mysteries that the human mind cannot
fathom, many things that human wisdom cannot explain; but nature can
teach us much concerning the mystery of godliness. Every shrub, every
tree bearing fruit, all vegetation, has lessons for our study. In the growth of
the seed are to be read the mysteries of the kingdom of God. To the heart
softened by the grace of God, the sun, the moon, the stars, the trees, the
flowers of the field, utter words of counsel....
God’s laws for nature are obeyed by nature. Cloud and storm, sunshine
and shower, dew and rain, all are under the supervision of God and yield
obedience to His command. In obedience to the law of God the spire of grain
bursts through the earth, “first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn
in the ear” (
Mark 4:28
). The fruit is seen in the bud, and the Lord develops it
in its proper season because it does not resist His working....
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
laws? ...
God desires us to learn from nature the lesson of obedience.... The book
of nature and the written Word shed light upon each other. Both make us
better acquainted with God by teaching us of His character and of the laws
through which He works.
Tell your children about the miracle-working power of God. As they
study the great lesson book of nature, God will impress their minds. The
farmer plows his land and sows his seed, but he cannot make the seed grow.
He must depend on God to do that which no human power can do. The
Lord puts His vital power into the seed, causing it to spring forth into life.
Under His care the germ of life breaks through the hard crust encasing it,
and springs up to bear fruit.... As the children are told of the work that God
does for the seed, they learn the secret of growth in grace.
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