The Brinkley argus., 1912-07-19

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 GOLDEN TExT-"Thy kingdom come, thy will be done. as in heaven so on i earth."-Matt. 6:10
 Last week we observed the fact that the genesis of this new kingdom Jesus came to establish was to be the life, his life, when was as seed. The reception of the seed in various sorts of soil, however, made vast diff ference as to the ultimate outcome. Today we may observe from these words of the Master what are to be the processes of the establishing of the Kingdom, for we do not read into this parable a record of the final con sumation, but rather that these para bles reveal different aspects of the same general process.
 While 1t Is true that this first para ble is only recorded by St. Mark it is in reality complement of these para bles about the kingdom found in the thirteenth of Matthew and elsewhere Is the word, Luke 8-11, and that the soil Is the hearts of men, but here Jesus tells us that in the spiritual as in the material universe man "knoweth not how" the life principle propcgates itself. It is helpful thought to every Christian worker that he is not to be held accountable l for that part of the process; his part l is to be that of the man who shall cast the seed into the ground. Not | upon, but into" (v. 26). Having | thus planted the seed let him sleep and rise again e. g., let him trust wise God to see to it that the seed germinate and bring forth. All of your worrying and mine cannot hasten | the process nor change the result once | the seed is sown, so let us be care full to SOW them right and as far as possible be sure we plant it in proper fy prepared soil.
 Process is Gradual.
 Again let us beware of presumptu- ousness The knoweth not how" Can you, my reader, define life? Can you explain the transmission, the develop ment, the propagation of life? We ac- cept the results of these things in na- ture without questioning, why stagger at similar things in the spiritual realm? Why question the reality of the Christian life when we see all about us Its results? In verses 22 and g of this same chapter we are ad- nlonished that if we have ears let him hear" Ca positive injunetion) and almost the very next word tells us to take heed what we hear" Going on down 10 verse 28 of the lesson we see clearly the reason for these words, for our lives will grow and will reproduce each after it's own kind. If we SOW wheat we reap wheat. If we We shall reap tares.
 The process is gradual one, but a sure one. First the blade, then the ear, and then the full corn in the ear" The harvest will not take place until the process be completed. It is bandman puts forth his sickle. We | are not to bother ourselves so much | with the Trocess as we are to guard he source. Sow good seed and God
 will see to 1t that 1t shall bring forth.
 Let us not expect the full corn" of
 ripe experience from the tender
 blade" of early Christian life. Let us
 have patience till these young Chris
 tians have time to reach the full ma turity of their powers. Jesus the har-
 vester of this parable knew when to
 put in the sickle, viz, VI the fruit
 is ripe" (v. 29, R. VI
 The Main Truth.
 Looking back over history his was
 indeed Tess than all the seeds in the
 earth" yet he set into motion those 1 principles and powers that have
 caused his kingdom to become great
 in the earth Nsa. 9:7) Under the
 branches of this kingdom have lodged
 the weary and the stricken ones. The birds of the air symbolize the gather
 ing together of the nations of the
 earth that they may take refuge un- | der the shelter and shadow of the kingdom of God, see Ezek 17, Daniel
 4, etc. We must beware of fanciful
 interpretations or applications. The
 main truth ia that almost without ex.
 ception the beginnings of all great
 movements in the kingdom of God
 have been like mustard seed, small
 but exceeding great in their growth,
 Witness such moral developments as
 the slavery question. Compare the | present day temperance agitation with
 what 1t amounted to one hundred. yes,
 twenty-five years ago The same can
 be said of countless other move | ment5"
 For the third parable that of the leayen which a woman hid in the three measures of meal wa need to re
 fer to Paul's inspired words as record
 ed in Cor 5:5-7 and Gal 5:S-9. Here
 Paul explicitly tells us that leaven is 1 tyre of sin. That we who are in
 Christ are new lump, unleayened
 That the old leayen is that of malice
 and wickedness, but that We who have
 put away leaven are the bread of sin
 cerity and truth. What do we there l fore infer? Viz, that as growing UT
 alongside the good seed shall also
 grow the tares with fruitage of death