GROWTH IN
GRACE
BY H.W. S.
Grow, dear
friends, but grow, I beseech you, in God’s way, which is the only effectual
way. See to it that you are planted in grace, and then let the Divine
Husbandman cultivate you in His own way, and by His own means. Put yourselves
out in the sunshine of His presence, and let the dew of Heaven come down upon
you, and see what will come of it. Leaves, and flowers, and fruit must surely
come in their season; for your Husbandman is a skillful one, and He never fails
in His harvesting. Only see to it that you oppose no hindrance to the shining
of the Sun of Righteousness, or the falling of the dew from Heaven. A very
think covering may serve to keep off the heat or the moisture, and the plant
may wither even in their midst. And the slightest barrier between your soul and
Christ may cause you to dwindle and fade, as a plant in a cellar, or “under a
bushel.” Keep the sky clear. Open wide every avenue of your being to receive the
blessed influences your Divine Husbandman may bring to bear upon you. Bask in
the sunshine of His love. Drink in of the waters of His goodness. Keep your
face upturned to Him. Look, and your soul shall live.
You need to make
no effort to grow. But let your efforts instead be all consecrated on this,
that you abide in the Vine. The Husbandman Who has the care of the vine will
care for its branches also, and will so prune, and purge, and water, and tend
them, that they will grow and bring forth fruit. And their fruit shall remain,
and, like the lily, they shall find themselves arrayed in apparel so glorious,
that that of Solomon will be as nothing to it. –“Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life.”
