A
great many people would like to grow in grace and are
trying to be spiritual, but do not know how. Let me invite
your attention to the words of Jesus in the twelfth
chapter of Luke and the twenty seventh
verse—"Consider the lilies how they grow." The
lily does not grow by toiling or spinning nor does she
take anxious thought. She does not worry about in whose
meadow she is growing. She does not fear that it will not
rain nor that the sun will not shine on the morrow. In
fact, she does not put forth any special effort to grow,
yet she grows and is arrayed more gorgeously than was
Solomon in all his glory.
Growth and perpetuation of life are
brought about by two things—food and exercise. The lily
sends her tender roots into the earth, opens her petals to
the dew, and receives her God given nourishment; and from
the gentle breezes that sweep the meadow she receives
exercise. By these means she grows. There is only one way
to grow— to correspond with the environments, to eat the
food that God has provided, and to exercise. People who
are always making a conscious effort to grow in their own
strength, often, like the wasp, which is larger when
hatched than at any other time in its life, grow smaller
instead of larger. Our spiritual food is the Word of God.
"But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall
not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth
out of the mouth of God." Matt. 4:4. "Eat ye
that which is good and let thy soul delight itself in
fatness." Our spiritual exercise is: "Watch and
pray;" "Men ought always to pray, and not to
faint" (Luke 18:1); endure temptation; do good unto
all men, rejoice evermore. If we do these things, our
growth like that of the lily, will be unconscious and
spontaneous. Conscious effort to grow and a neglect of the
laws of growth are fruitless and vain, for "which of
you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his
stature?" Matt. 6:27.
David thus describes the
blessedness of the man who delights himself in the law of
the Lord: "And he shall be like a tree planted by the
rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his
season; his leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he
doeth shall prosper." Psa. 1:3. From the rich soil of
the river bank and the moisture of its waters, the tree
draws its food—corresponds with its environment and so
prospers. The winds give it exercise, and it grows.
"The righteous shall flourish
like the palm tree; he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall
flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bring
forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing;
to show that the Lord is upright." Psa. 92 :12-15.
"Shall flourish like the palmtree." When does
the palm tree flourish the most? When the winds bend
it and sway it to and fro; for then the roots run farther
and deeper, the sap flows faster and more abundantly, the
trunk grows larger and stronger and the branches become
more luxuriant and beautiful. Just so with the righteous.
When the storms of trials and temptations rage against
them, then life and vitality within flows quicker and the
strength of the inner man is renewed day by day.
"Shall grow like a cedar in
Lebanon." How does the cedar in Lebanon grow? By
sinking its roots deep in the ground; and when the storms
sway it to and fro, its roots get exercise and take deeper
hold in the soil. So with the person who is planted in the
house of the Lord, rooted and grounded in love. The more
trials and storms, the more he loves his Lord, "and
taking root downward, he bears fruit upward." So dear
one, if you would be established in the grace of God, if
you would flourish in the courts of our God, you must
stand the storms of trials and temptations.
Our growth must be brought about
and our life must be perpetuated by the simple acts of
eating and exercising. The infant draws its food from its
mother and by crying, kicking, and playing, it gets
exercise. The colt draws its sustenance from its mother
and by playing about the barnyard gets exercise. So it is
with every form of life— growth is brought about by
corresponding with environments and by taking proper
exercise. Sometimes we hear Christians say, "There is
no use for me to pray in public or to testify to what the
Lord has done for me, for I can not speak well, and it
will do nobody any good." Do you suppose it does the
farmer any good to see his colt run and play about the
barnyard? Do you suppose that it does the mother any good
for the infant to play and cry? No; but it does the infant
good to cry and play, for that is its exercise; and it
does the colt good to run and play. By continuing to do
itself good, the child may become a strong man or woman,
and then it can be a help to others. The colt, while it is
kicking and playing about the barnyard, does the farmer no
good; but it does itself good, and after a while it may be
a strong draft horse and able to draw heavy loads. So with
you, dear weak one. If your prayers or your testimonies or
your efforts to glorify the Lord do not accomplish as much
as those of some stronger Christian, you need the
exercise. It will do you good, and after a while you will
be strong and able to do good to others. Even the humblest
efforts of God's little ones sometimes accomplish a great
deal, and God is not unrighteous to for get your labor of
love. So if you would prosper in the divine life and grow
in grace, remember these two things; feed your soul on the
Word of God and exercise yourself unto godliness. "If
you do these things, you shall never fall.
