The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1912-07-19

GOLDEN TEXT-"Thy kingdom come.
thy will be done, as In heaven so on
rth."-Matt. $40.
Last week we observed the fact
that the genesis OF this new kingdom
Jesus came to establish was 10 be
the life, his life, when was as seed.
The reception Of the seed In various
sorts Of soil, however, made a 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 q record of the final con-
summation, but rather that these para
bles reveal different aspects Of the
same general process.
While 1t is true that this first para
bic is only recorded by st. Mark it is
in reality a complement Of these para.
bles about the kingdom found IN the
thirteenth Of Matthew and elsewhere.
We have already noted that the seed
is the word, Luke S-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
propogates itself. 1t Is a helpful
thought to every Christian worker
that he Is not to be held accountable
for that part Of the process; his part
Is to be that of the man who shall
cast the seed into the ground. Not
upon, but into" ". 26), Having
thus planted the seed let him sleep
and rise again" e. g., let him trust q
wise God to see to 1t that the seed
terminate 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 1t in proper
ly prepared soil.
Process Is Gradual.
Again let us beware of presumptu-
"he knoweth not how" Can
you, my reader, define life? Can you
explain the transmission, the develop
ment, the propagation of life? We &C.
cept the results Of these things in ma
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 % and
20 Of this same chapter we are ad-
monished that II we have ears let
him hear" "a positive Injunction and
to take heed what we hear" Going
on down to verse 28 Of the lesson
we see clearly the reason for these
words, for our lives will grow and will
reproduce each after its W kind. If
we SOW wheat we reap wheat. If we
allow tares to be sown in our lives
we shall reap tares.
The process is a gradual one, but q
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. 1t is
not till the fruit is ripe that the hus-
bandman puts forth his sickle. We
are not to bother ourselves so much
with the process as we are to guard
the source. Sow good seed and God
will see to it 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, when the fruit
is ripe" ". 20, r. W
The Main Truth.
Looking back we history his was
indeed Tess than all the seeds in the
EARTH" yet he set into motion those
principles and powers that have
caused his kingdom to become great
In the earth lisa. 9:7.) Under the
branches of this kingdom have lodged
the weary and the stricken ones. The
birds Of the air symbolic 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 Eek. IT, Daniel
4, etc. We must beware of fanciful
interpretations or applications. The
main truth is 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 It amounted to one hundred, yes,
twenty-five years ago, The same can
be said Of countless other move
ments."
For the third parable that Of the
leayen which a woman hid In the
three measures Of meal we need to re-
fer to Paul's inspired words as record
ed in 1 Cor. 5:5-7 and Gal. $3.50. Here
Paul explicitly tells us that leaven is
a type Of sin. That We who are In
Christ are a new lump, u~nleavened.
That the old leaven is that Of malice
and wickedness, but that We who have
put away leaven are the bread Of sim
and truth. What do we there"
fore infer? Viz, that as growing UP
alongside the good seed shall also
grow the tares with fruitage Of dsa'
and decay
A speeding cyciist in Brooklyn XIII
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