The Tupelo journal., 1903-05-15

tears away and wooes by the warmth
of his kindly rays the earth back to
life and beauty. We watch the swell
ing buds on the trees, and hear the
faint rustic of their unfolding. We
greet the tender green stalk of the
flower as it pushes bravely and eager
ly towards the sunlight and the blue
sky. And how. we rejoice when thus
the bleakness of winter gives place
to the unfolding of the new life and
hope of springtime. And it is a glad
time, a blessed time, when the spring
time breaks in upon the soul, shatter-
ing the letters of its winter of sin,
and awakening it to new life, new
beauty, new possibilities, and a new
and enduring hope.
HE angels of Heaven watching for
the coming of spring in the human
heart rejoice with joy unspeakable as
they behold the life and power of God
quickening the soul into new expert
ences and new hopes. The earth, with
its myriads of human souls, is Gods
garden plot. 1t is barren and dead in
spots, but, oh, how He longs to see
the dead places quickened into life and
beauty. Think of the garden which
was insensible to the warm rays of the
sun, which was willing to drink in the
gentle and refreshing rain and still lay
cold and black and barren, which re-
ceived the mellowing and enriching
touch of its masters hand, and which,
notwithstanding all that was done for
it, persisted in remaining dead and
barren! How long would human pa
thence tend and care for it and wait for
it to respond to the efforts expended
upon it? But look at that sadder pic
ture suggested by u text of the gar
den spot of the human life which re-
ceives the gladdening warmth of Gods
love, which drinks in all the goodness
which He showers upon the life, which
has day by day the tender thought and
care of the Master Gardener, and yet
that soul remains as dead and barren
as the hard sands of the desert and as
Indifferent as the adamantine rock.
Angels are watching the garden spot
of God, and when the quickening in
the human heart takes place and the
tender stalk of the new life pushes up
ward toward the warmth of Gods love
and where it can be watered by the
showers of mercy and dews of grace,
then there is joy in Heaven. What a
glad time is spring. Oh, how we delight
to pass down the garden path and note
here and there the returning green, the
tiny green sprouts reaching upward
through the dark soil, and the burst
ing bud on tree and bush. The evil
dences of the new life send a thrill
through our being. We are glad with
a joy almost ~unspeakable. And in the
regions where angels hover and eager
,ly watch the teeming millions of earth,
there is rich, pure joy which only
Heaven can know in all it's transcend
ing fullness, when a dead soul re-
spends to the quickening touch of God
and rises to of life in Christ
Jesus.
THE seed. hard and dry in my hand,
is insensible to the possibilities of
life. AS it lies there | speak to it of
life, of a richer, deeper, fuller expert
ence, of fruitfulness. 1t views compla-
Gently its sleek and shiny dress it
feels the fullness of its own present
state and it replies that it is quite con
tent. All, [ say, but you are dead now,
you don't know what life is. With in
credulous voice the seed asks how 1
know that there is life and a new and
larger experience which it may enjoy.
And [ reply, because I have seen other
seeds thrill with life, l have watched
them push down into the nourishing
soil and reach up with their tender
green; / have seen the sun smile upon
them, and heard the rain whisper his
fearful message of love until the ten
der green shoot has become the strong
and fruitful stalk, with it's graceful leaf
and beautiful flower. And as l draw
the attractive picture of life, the little
seed in my hand listens eagerly and
then asks: "And how may I, too,
know what this life is?" "Ah, by put
ting Yourself in the hands of Mother
Nature and letting her quicken you
with her energy. AS long as you lie by
yourself you will only be a hard dry
seed, but if you will let Nature exert
her power upon you, the thrill of life
will burst the narrow prison of your
present dead condition and you enter
upon a new and larger and better ex-
istence and experience"
EFT the little parable of this tiny
seed speak its lesson to you, oh
soul. Unless God has quickened you
into life through faith in Jesus Christ,
you are dead-dead in trespasses and
sins! / speak to you of life; not the
life which is throbbing in your veins
and giving you a sense of joy and salts
faction in the earthly experiences, but
of that soul experience which comes
from the presence of God there. You
settle back in the ease and comfort of
your present condition and say you
are quite content. All! but what about
the time when the present experiences
shall have ended, and earth's light and
| Joy and satisfaction shall have given
| place to the darkness and uncertainty
of eternity? There is no life apart
from God. Jesus said: "Verily, verify,
I say unto you, he that heareth My
word, and believeth Him that sent Me,
hath Eternal Life, and cometh not into
judgment, but hath passed out OF
death into life" How limited and mean
are the possibilities and opportunities