Spiritual growth in Christian preaching emphasizes the gradual, God-ordained process of maturing in faith and holiness, often illustrated by natural growth like trees or fruit trees that require time, care, and perseverance (2 Peter 3:18). This growth involves enduring trials, humility, and the diligent application of God's truth to overcome sin and deepen one’s relationship with Christ (Colossians 1:10).
Spiritual fruitfulness depends on being fully exposed to God's light and truth.
Some time ago we noticed that a tree planted at the sunny end of a house had large and beautiful blossoms. It was a feast to the eyes; but what an amazing difference in some of the branches trained round the corner of the house where they got much less sun. The blossoms were starved and drooping, and there was little promise of fruit. They had the same root and stem in common, but while one part of the tree was in the full glorious light, the other branches were in the shade.
Our character is affected in the same way by insufficient enlightenment. The dark places produce unfruitful branches: strange weaknesses, distortions, immaturities, indirection, failures in practical life and conduct. "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance" (Galatians 5:22-23). If we are to bear all manner of precious fruit, each in its rightful season, we must trustfully and joyfully lay open our whole soul to the full expanse of God's light shining in the face of Jesus Christ. No Spiritual Blind Spot
Cricketers talk a great deal about visual imperfection, for sooner or later the bowler finds the blind spot, the batsman misjudges the ball, and his sport comes to an end. The devil plays for the blind spot, and if there is such a defect in our spiritual vision, sooner or later it gets us into trouble. The blind spot in the natural eye is a necessary, unavoidable, physiological defect of which the brightest and most skillful athlete cannot rid himself. However, morally and religiously no part of our nature need be dark, and we may successfully defend ourselves in every assault. If for any subtle, selfish reason we harbor some bias of the mind, some prejudice that warps the judgment, some neglect of charity, some inertia that obstructs conviction, some deviation of aim, some deflection in action, we lay ourselves open to grievous losses and sorrows. "But if we walk in the light, as he [God] is in the light, we have fellowship one with another" (1 John 1:7). If we don't have fellowship with other believers, there is a dark spot in our spiritual vision. But the Christian whose heart is full of light enjoys the company of those of like precious faith, "and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." It is our privilege to walk in the full light, to have our whole soul instructed and illuminated.
The Bible is a powerful, healing, and guiding tool for every believer's life journey.
Most of us resent being "used," but here is something which could change the world, and it is crying out to be used:
Just use me-I am the Bible.
I am God's wonderful library.
I am always-and above all-the Truth.
To the weary pilgrim, I am a good strong staff.
To the one who sits in gloom, I am a glorious light.
To those who stoop beneath heavy burden, I am sweet rest.
To him who has lost his way, I am a safe guide.
To those who have been hurt by sin, I am healing balm.
To the discouraged, I whisper glad messages of hope.
To those who are distressed by the storms of life, I am an anchor.
To those who suffer in lonely solitude, I am a cool, soft hand resting on a fevered brow
O, child of man, to best defend me, just use me!
If you have not yet discovered that wonderful book we call the Bible, it's time you did. In the words of Samuel to Saul, "Stop here yourself for a while, that I may make known to you the Word of God" (1 Samuel 9:27). A Tool
The best carpenter in the county was asked, "Which is your best tool?" Instead of pointing to a costly power saw or drill, he picked up a simple square and said, "This is the best tool; it makes all the others work."
Let us not overlook our best tool; the simple gospel (Romans 1:16). In this verse, Paul gives four reasons why the gospel is our most effective weapon:
First, it is power. The original word is similar to our word for dynamite.
Second, it is of God. Though Rome with her imperial power was great, the power of God was greater. However sincere the motive, any alteration or substitution of that power only weakens it.
Third, it is unto salvation. In addition to being a past event and a future hope, salvation is a present reality. It can turn hate into love, despair into hope, and defeat into triumph.
Fourth, it is for everyone. The saving power of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is for all!
Like trees by water, Christians must grow straight, strong, honest, useful, and resilient in faith.
"And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water" (Psalms 1:3).
Who shall be like a tree? The good man, anyone who loves God, and loves his Bible and loves to do right.
The trees can teach us many lessons:
Grow straight and beautiful. Live a life so you will have a good reputation; do not let any sin make you grow crooked and full of knots and gnarls.
Be sound of heart. Some beautiful trees are rotten-hearted, hollow-hearted. They are dying trees, they are hypocrites, the lumber man cuts one down and it cannot be used. Be honest, be true, be sincere, be what you want people to think you are.
Be strong. Do not let any little wind of temptation blow you over. Overcome evil with good. Sometimes the winds topple even live trees in the forest, but God is better to His children than trees. "Ye shall not be tempted above that ye are able."
Keep growing. Last winter was cold, last summer was hot, but every live tree grew a little; it added one more ring to the trunk, a few more twigs to the branches. Do not let trouble keep you from growing in faith; do not let hard work keep you from growing in love; keep growing every year.
Give help to others. All live trees are of some use-shade, timber, nuts or fruits. Every Christian can be of some use in the world. Find your work and do it well.
God cares for all. For every tree there is a place to grow, plenty of air, light and rain. There is also for you all that you need. God cares for all His children. He never has forgotten one; He will never fail you nor forsake you.
Be contented. No tree ever worries, fusses, or grumbles. Does it grow in a wilderness? It may yet be a part of a city palace. Is your life lonely or sad? Some day death will transplant you into the great city of heaven.
The trees look in at your window, they smile down upon you along the streets. Learn the lessons that they teach, and you may be like a tree planted by the river of water.
Spiritual growth takes time; there are no shortcuts to maturity in Christ.
When James A. Garfield was president of Hiram College, a man brought his son for entrance as a student, for whom he wished a shorter course than the regular. "The boy can never take all that in," said the father. "He wants to get through quicker. Can you arrange it for him?"
Mr. Garfield, a minister-educator said, "Oh, yes. He can take a short course; it all depends on what you want to make of him. When God wants to make an oak, He takes a hundred years, but he takes only two months to make a squash."
Many want instant spirituality-like instant coffee or potatoes! It doesn't come that way! There are no short courses! No short-cuts! No gimmicks! It takes time to grow! Growth is a sequence-an orderly arrangement! "For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again" was God's indictment of the Hebrew Christians (Hebrews 5:12-14).
Growing Christians exalt God more and become humble, showing initiative in service.
Dr. Bonar once said that he could tell when a Christian was growing. In proportion to his growth in grace he would elevate his Maker, talk less of what he himself was doing, and become smaller and smaller in his own esteem, until, like the morning star, he faded way before the rising sun. A Christian Mandate
Do all the good you can
By all the means you can
In all the ways you can
In all the places you can
To all the people you can
As long as ever you can. Are You Pushed or Pushing?
How long would you keep an automobile that had to be pushed everywhere it went? How much would it be worth to you? How much pleasure would you find in it? You might keep an automobile that just had to be pushed occasionally, but you would not have one for long that just could not be depended on, that would not go whenever you wanted it to go.
The Lord is no more pleased with one of His servants that continually has to be pushed than you would be with an automobile that continually has to be pushed.
God wants men of initiative and fervency of spirit. Paul taught us to be diligent, not slothful; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord (Romans 12:11).
A man who has to be pushed continually in order to keep him in service and attending worship is not devoted to the cause. It is understandable that a newborn babe in Christ, a young convert, might need to be pushed or encouraged, but if one who has been a Christian for many years must still be pushed, he is not growing spiritually as he should. He is not spiritually mature.
Do you have to be pushed?
Spiritual growth requires daily Bible study, like an apple tree growing new wood.
The famous poet H. W. Longfellow was once asked how he managed a long and a happy life.
Pointing to an apple tree, the writer remarked: "The secret of the apple tree is that it grows a little new wood each year. That's what I try to do."
No matter what age you are, it is important to continue to grow spiritually each day, each month, each year. Such spiritual growth requires constant Bible study.
Why not start growing a little new wood now, by reading at least one chapter from the Bible each day? You will be blessed for it (Psa. 119).
The greatest hindrance to spiritual growth is clinging to self-righteousness.
A young preacher frequently talked with a wise old farmer. One day the question under discussion was, "What is the greatest hindrance to spiritual growth and happiness?" The preacher said, "Surely it is failure to renounce our sinful self." "No," said the farmer, "the greatest hindrance is failure to renounce our righteous self."
Struggles and trials develop strength necessary for spiritual and moral growth.
One day a small boy saw a butterfly struggling to emerge from its cocoon. It was straining with all its might to get out of the opening which was too small. Thinking he was helping the butterfly, the boy took his knife and slit the cocoon. But to his dismay the butterfly emerged with small and shriveled wings and was unable to fly. Within a short time it was dead. When the boy asked his father about it, his father explained that the butterfly needed the struggle to get out of the cocoon, for this was the process that developed its wings and made them strong enough for flight. In trying to help by relieving the butterfly of its painful struggle, he had actually deprived it of that which was necessary for its development and its very life. This same principle carries over into all of human life-the struggles and the trials we face actually serve for our development, not only in the physical realm but also in the moral and spiritual.
Spiritual breakthrough comes from going deeper in Christ, not searching elsewhere.
A small company in the early days of gold mining in South Africa sank shaft after shaft in different locations, finding only a small amount of gold in each shaft. Ultimately, the prospectors discovered that all they needed to have done was to go deeper in the first shaft for, as they did so, they found gold in abundance.
Roy Hession writes that he has found this to be true in the spiritual life also.
"I testify that although I have tried all sorts of different shafts, hoping for greater results in my life, Christ has now become the end of all my searching. Revival for me has meant coming back to the place where I first began, and I intend to stay there. Tell me not of any other way. I need to go deeper at His cross-much deeper."
New believers grow spiritually by eagerly desiring and studying God's Word.
“As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby” 1 Peter 2:2
Patrick was an Irish Catholic, who for years had longed for the assurance of peace with God. A visiting tourist, who fell into conversation with him, left him a copy of the New Testament, the Douay version, approved by the officials of his church. Through reading this, Pat was brought to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, and from that time on, read and studied his Testament with eagerness, ever seeking a deeper knowledge of the things of God. The parish priest, who had missed him from the regular services, called on him and found him deep in the study of the Word.
“Pat,” he asked, “what is that book you are reading?” “Sure, your riverence,” was the reply, “it’s the New Testament.”
In horrified accents the priest exclaimed, “The New Testament! Why, Pat, that’s not a book for the likes of you. You’ll be getting all kinds of wild notions from reading it and will be running off into heresy.”
“But, your riverence,” remonstrated Pat, “I have just been reading here — it’s the blessed Apostle Peter himself that wrote it — ‘As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that you may grow thereby,’ and sure it’s a newborn babe in Christ I am and it’s the milk of the Word I’m after. So I can’t see the harm of reading the Testament.”
“Ah,” said the priest, “It’s perfectly true, Patrick, that you need the milk of the Word, but the Almighty has appointed the clergy to be the milkmen. The clergy go to the college and the seminary and learn the meaning of the Word and then when the people come to the church we give it to them as they are able to bear it, and explain it in a way that they won’t misunderstand.”
“Well, sure, your riverence,” said Pat, “you know I keep a cow of me own out there in the barn, and when I was sick, sometime ago, I had to hire a man to milk the cow and I soon found he was shtealin’ half the milk and fillin’ the bucket up with water, and sure it was awful weak milk I was gettin’. But now that I am well again I have let him go and I am milkin’ me own cow, and so it’s the rich cream I am gettin’ once more. And your riverence, when I was dependin’ on you for the milk of the Word, sure it was the blue, watery stuff you were givin’ me. But now I am milkin’ me own cow and enjoyin’ the cream of the Word all the time.”
We may well emulate Patrick and each for himself milk his own cow and thus get God’s Word firsthand as He opens it up by the Holy Spirit.
Believers are like weak creatures who trust God as their strong foundation and King.
I want to tell you how I was blessed a few years ago, upon hearing a discourse upon the thirtieth chapter of Proverbs. The speaker said the children of God were like four things. The first thing was: "The ants are a people not strong," and he went on to compare the children of God to ants. He said the people of God were like ants. They pay no attention to the things of the present, but go on steadily preparing for the future. The next thing he compared them to was the conies. "The conies are but a feeble folk." It is a very weak little thing. "Well," said I, "I wouldn't like to be as a coney." But he went on to say that it built upon a rock. The children of God were very weak, but they laid their foundation upon a rock. "Well," said I, "I will be like a coney and build my hopes upon a rock." Like the Irishman who said he trembled himself, but the rock upon which his house was built never did. The next thing the speaker compared them to was a locust. I didn't think much of locusts; and I thought I wouldn't care about being like one. But he went on to read, "They have no king, yet they go forth all of them by bands." There were the Congregationalist, the Presbyterian, the Methodist bands going forth without a king, but by and by our King will come back again, and these bands will fly to Him. "Well, I will be like a locust; my King is away," I thought. The next comparison was a spider. I didn't like this at all, but he said if we went into a gilded palace filled with luxury, we might see a spider holding on to something, oblivious to all the luxury below. It was laying hold of the things above. "Well," said I, "I would like to be a spider." I heard this a good many years ago, and I just put the speaker's name to it, and it makes a sermon. But take your Bibles and mark them. Don't think of wearing them out. It is a rare thing to find a man wearing his Bible out now-a-days--and Bibles are cheap, too. You are living in a land where they are plenty. Study them and mark them, and don't be afraid of wearing them.
Studying one Bible book at a time with its key opens understanding of Scripture as a whole.
I have found it a good plan to take up one book at a time. It is a good deal better to study one book at a time than to run through the Bible. If we study one book and get its key, it will, perhaps, open up others. Take up the book of Genesis, and you will find eight beginnings; or, in other words, you pick up the key of several books. The gospel was written that man might believe on Jesus Christ, and every chapter speaks of Him. Now, take the book of Genesis; it says it is the book of beginnings. That is the key; then the book of Exodus--it is the book of redemption; that is the key word of the whole. Take up the book of Leviticus, and we find that it is the book of sacrifices. And so on through all the different books; you will find each one with a key. Another thing: We must study it unbiased. A great many people believe certain things. They believe in certain creeds and doctrines, and they run through the book to get Scripture in accordance with them. If a man is a Calvinistic man he wants to find something in accordance with his doctrine. But if we go to seek truth the Spirit of God will come. Don't seek it in the blue light of Presbyterianism, in the red light of Methodism; or in the light of Episcopalianism, but study it in the light of Calvary.
Filling the mind with God's truth prevents temptation and falsehood from taking root.
"The way to destroy ill weeds is to plant good herbs that are contrary." We have all heard of weeds choking the wheat; if we were wise we should learn from our enemy, and endeavour to choke the weeds by the wheat. Pre-occupation of mind is a great safeguard from temptation. Fill a bushel with corn, and you will keep out the chaff: have the heart stored with holy things, and the vanities of the world will not so readily obtain a lodging-place. Herein is wisdom in the training of children. Plant the mind early with the truths of God's word, and error and folly will, in a measure, be forestalled. The false will soon spring up if we do not early occupy the mind with the true. He who said that he did not wish to prejudice his boy's mind by teaching him to pray, soon discovered that the devil was not so scrupulous, for his boy soon learned to swear. It is well to prejudice a field in favour of wheat at the first opportunity. In the matter of amusements for the young, it is much better to provide than to prohibit. If we find the lads and lasses interesting employments they will not be so hungry after the gaieties and ensnarements of this wicked world. If we are afraid that the children will eat unwholesome food abroad, let us as much as possible take the edge from their appetites by keeping a good table at home.
Spiritual desires need diligent care and cultivation to thrive, unlike worldly desires.
"The more supernatural things are, the more we need diligence to preserve them. A strange plant (an exotic) requires more care than a native of the soil. Worldly desires, like nettles, breed of their own accord; but spiritual desires need a great deal of cultivating." The more spiritual the duty, the sooner the soul wearies of it. An illustration of this is seen in the case of Moses, whose hands grew weary in prayer, while we never read that Joshua's hands hung down in fight. Spirituality is a tender plant, and without great care it soon flags, while sin needs neither hoeing nor watering, but will spring up in the dark, and flourish even amid the wintry frosts of trouble. The fair flower of grace is, however, so precious that God himself has promised to tend it. What must be the value of that plant of which the Lord hath said, "I will water it every moment; lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day"? Let us watch and pray, and never dream that things will go well with us if we neglect these necessary duties. No spiritual grace will thrive if we neglect it. We ought to be very diligent in our spiritual husbandry; nor should our labour be grudged, for the fruit will well reward our pains,
Meditating on truth patiently brings spiritual life and blessing to the soul.
"A sudden glance at truth without meditation upon it bringeth nothing to perfection, as a hen that soon leaveth her nest never hatcheth her chicks." How can she? Patience is needed, and the quiet self-denial by which she renders up the warmth of her heart, otherwise her eggs will lie as dead as stones. The value
of truth will never be known by those who look at it and hurry on: they must brood over it, and cover it with their heart's love, or it will never become living truth to their souls. We must apply ourselves to a doctrine, giving our whole soul and heart to it, or we shall miss the blessing. Herein is wisdom. Lord, when I hear a sermon, or read in a good book, let me not be as the partridge which sitteth on eggs and hatcheth them not; but make me to see life and power in thy word, and to rejoice over it as one that findeth great spoil.
Neglecting small losses in grace leads to losing all spiritual strength over time.
"To be careless of the degree of our grace makes way for the loss of the whole. Christians are like a hen when many eggs are taken out of the nest; as long as one or two remaineth, she taketh no notice of it, and forsaketh not the nest. Be not thus foolish, but consider whether there be not abatement of some degree of your grace, though a little may remain with you still. Content not yourselves that all is not lost, because something remains; but seek to have grace in as great a proportion as formerly. A miser would not be content to miss a part of his gold because a pile still remained; the woman in the parable was not easy because she had many pieces of money left; neither should we be comfortable if a grain of grace is lost by us, even though we may be well assured that a saving portion still remains. Why should we lose any measure of grace? We shall need it all. At our strongest we are weak enough. We have never one whit of love to spare; what a pity that we should lose a fragment of it. No man is more sure of being poor than he who loses his estate insensibly. You may stop a leak if you perceive it, but what can save a ship which sinks imperceptibly? We may heal a wound, but when life oozes away in secret who can save us?
Lord, help us to perceive, to lament, and to recover the least loss in gracious matters."
True spiritual life is proven by ongoing growth and progress in faith and love.
"Where there is life there will be growth, and if grace be true, it will surely increase. A painted flower keepeth always at the same pitch and stature; the artist may bestow beauty upon it, but he cannot bestow life. A painted child will be as little ten years hence as it is now." What need there is to observe the wide distinction between the picture and the living thing! Of painted likenesses of Christians we have more than enough; nor is the manufacture of portraits a difficult operation: what we want is the real thing and not the artistic imitation. Manton saith well that growth is the test. Many professors must be for ever beginning again: they stick where they were, or thought they were. They were anxious about their souls, and are so still. They were trying and wishing, and with tries and wishes they are resting contented. If they were saved and knew it, they would find themselves making some measure of advance: not always advancing at the same rate, for all life is not equally rapid in its growth, but still progressing somewhat, forgetting the things behind, and reaching forth to that which is beyond. Reader, how do you stand under this test? Come, search yourself, and see whether you are adding to your faith, courage; and to courage, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. If there be no growth, it may be, nay, surely it must be, that you are not a child born into the family of God, but a pretty picture, which may adorn a room, but which cannot
Ws - ILLUSTRATIONS AND MEDITATIONS. perform any of the actions of life. It is a sad thing if such be your case, for heaven is not a portrait-gallery; it is the home of loving, living souls, whom grace has quickened with eternal life.
Mature believers seek practical, healing spiritual truths rather than mere ornamental speech.
"Plutarch, in his treatise on growth in moral virtue, wherein are many things applicable to growth in grace, saith that a man that hath made some progress in virtue is like a physician, who, when he comes into a garden, doth not consider flowers for their beauty, as gallants do, but for their use and virtue in medicine. So the grown believer doth not consider speech for its fineness, but fitness and seasonableness for present use." The same holdeth good also concerning growth in grace; the more we grow the more we regard the spiritual part of the word, and such Scriptures and truths as are of practical use and personal concern. Hence it is that experienced believers cannot put up with the mere ornaments of speech which yield so much satisfaction to youthful minds. They want solid, practical, gospel doctrine, and they must have it. Their craving is for herbs for their healing, and not for bouquets for their button-hole. My heart, go thou with the wise men, and learn from them what is the way of wisdom.
God continually raises up new defenders and truths to strengthen the church against attacks.
"As in war, as the arts of battery and methods of destruction do increase, so also doth skill in fortification, so in the Church, God still bestoweth gifts for the further explication of truth." We are glad to see our author writing so cheerily, for at this present it seems to us that our adversaries have been far more acute in assailing the gospel than the church in defending it. Still on God's side it is true that though his ministers may not be as faithful as they should be, yet he raises up one and another to stand as bulwarks for the truth, and so, after all, the grand old cause is not quite overborne. To the end of the campaign it will be so, and there is no real cause for despair, or even for despondency. The fortress of the gospel is still unconquered. Her motto is INVICTA. The gospel has survived the brutal ignorance of many ages, and if now the world has changed its fashions and professes itself to be wise, the same eternal system of truth will continue to baffle its designs. The assaults of sceptics are a gain to believers, for they produce a clearing and opening up of the truth. Opposition directs attention to neglected doctrines, and heresy calls for orthodox replies, and so our defences become stronger as our enemies become more furious. Happy citizens, to be thus shielded from the foe.
Spiritual life must grow and mature; remaining a baby in faith is a calamity.
"A child, if he should continue a child, and an infant still, would be a monster." However pleased the parents had been with the little one when it was a babe, they would soon be deeply distressed if year after year it still remained a tiny thing: indeed, they would consider it a great calamity to be the parents of a dwarf. What, then, shall we say of those in our churches who never grow? They are no forwarder after fifty years! Infants at sixty years of age! I have in my house a singular picture which is made up of the portraits of my sons, taken on their birthdays for twenty-one years. They begin in the perambulator, and end as full-grown young men. This is interesting and according to nature; but, alas, I have spiritual children whom I wheeled about in the perambulator of tender comfort twenty years ago, and they are babies still, needing as much care as ever, and are as little able to run alone. Ah me, that so many who ought to be warriors are weaklings, that those who should be men of six feet high are so stunted as to be mere Tom Thumbs in grace. O for grace to grow in grace, and especially in the knowledge of my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. God save us from a life which does not grow, and from a growth which is not healthy.
God knows and nurtures hidden spiritual graces before they visibly appear in believers.
"A gardener knoweth what roots are in the ground long before they appear, and what flowers they will produce." Look over the garden in winter, and you will not know that there is any preparation for spring; but the gardener sees in his mind's eye,— here a circle of golden cups, as if set out for a royal banquet, and there a cluster of snow-white beauties, drooping with excess of modest purity. His eye knows where the daffodils and anemones lie asleep, waiting to rise in all their loveliness; and he has learned the secret of the primroses and the violets, who wait in ambush till the first warm breath of spring shall bid them reveal themselves. Even thus doth the Lord know his hidden
ones long before the day of their manifestation with him. He sees his church before his ministers see it, and declares concerning heathen Corinth, "I have much people in this city." The figure may be applied to the garden of the soul. What graces are planted in the renewed heart, waiting their season, the Creator of those graces knows right well! He sees our faith, and love, and hope, and patience, long before we can see them; yea, and he discerns them when we ourselves question their existence. He not only knows them that are his, but all that is his within them. Nothing of his implanting is hidden from his inspection. Bulbs and seeds of holiness are sown in the righteous, and therefore are out of their sight; but he that placed them where they are has marked the spot, and not one of them shall die. Expectantly he waits to see his people's lives become "as beds of spices, as sweet flowers." Lord, it is because thou knowest all things that thou knowest that I love thee. Wert thou not omniscient, I fear thou hadst not discovered my sadly feeble love, buried as it is beneath so much sin and carnality. Lord, cause the sacred seed to grow, and then I too shall be assured of its existence, and my present questions and doubts shall flee away!
Gentle, reasoned persuasion is more effective for spiritual growth than harshness.
"Passionate outcries do only frighten easy and over-credulous souls, and that only for the present: proofs and arguments do a great deal more good. Snow that falleth soft soaketh deep. In the tempest, Christ slept: when passion is up true zeal is usually asleep." How gently fall the snowflakes, but how surely they penetrate into the ground; a driving rain hath not half such efficacy! The voice of the snow-flakes is not heard, but their influence is felt. Proofs from Scripture, winsomely put, carry all before them, because Jesus loves to reach men's minds by such means, and not by wrath and fury. This is a word to hasty disputants. Violent words appear to them to be forcible, but they are not. Hard arguments are best couched in soft language; the force of the lightning is not increased by the thunder. Wrath weakens reason, but gentleness gives double force to arguments. Alas, we too often forget this, and call in our evil passions to aid our holy principles. Then the Christ within us sleeps, and the devil is wide awake. It is to be feared that Protestantism has been rather hindered than furthered by the ferocity with which some have maintained it. Our present controversies are some of them essential to fidelity; but it will be well if we all remember that to be faithful to truth we need not be wrathful towards opponents. Truth and charity are of the same heavenly family, and are loveliest when they walk hand in hand. It has happened that some have been so charitable that they would not lift a finger to save truth's life lest they should wound one of another opinion. This is a sad practical error. But we shall not mend matters if we fight truth's battles so savagely that we hurl shot and shell upon the abode of love. Lord, teach us, for we are fearfully apt to err in this matter. Give us bold and clear words, taken from thine own word; and let us use these with the lowly confidence which comes of being filled with thy Spirit; but never allow our own spirit to get the upper hand, so that we breathe out threatenings and utter bitter expressions. Let our sword be always like that which cometh out of Christ's mouth; sharp but salutary; flaming, but only with the fire of love.
Adversity reveals and refines a Christian's true character, removing selfishness and worldly influence.
There are minerals called hydrophanous, which are not transparent till they are immersed in water, when they become so; as the hydrophane, a variety of opal. So it is with many a Christian. Till the floods of adversity have been poured over him, his character appears marred and clouded by selfishness and worldly influences. But trials clear away the obscurity, and give distinctness and beauty to his piety.
— Prof. Hitchcock
Adversity cultivates fortitude, a higher virtue than temperance found in prosperity.
It was a high speech of Seneca (after the manner of stoics), that the good things which belong to prosperity are to be wished, but the good things that belong to adversity are to be admired: "Bona veram secundarum opitabilia, adversarum mirabilia." Certainly, if miracles be the command over nature, they appear most in adversity. It is yet a higher speech of his than the other (much too high for a heathen), "It is true greatness to have in one the frailty of a man and the security of a God." "Vere magnum habere fragilitatem hominis, securitatem Dei." This would have done better in poesy, where transcendencies are more allowed; and the poets, indeed, have been busy with it; for it is, in effect, that strange thing which is figured in that strange fiction of the ancient poets, which seemeth not to be without mystery; nay, and to have some approach to the state of a Christian: "That Hercules, when he went to unkind Prometheus (by whom human nature is represented) sailed the length of the great ocean in an earthen pot or pitcher, lively describing Christian resolution, that saileth in the frail bark of the flesh through the waves of the world." But to speak in a mean, the virtue of prosperity is temperance, the virtue of adversity is fortitude, which in morals is the more heroical virtue. Prosperity is the blessing of the Old Testament; adversity is the blessing of the New, which carrieth the greater benediction, and the clearer revelation of God's favor. Yet, even in the Old Testament, if you listen to David's harp, you shall hear as many hearse-like airs as carols; and the pencil of the Holy Ghost hath labored more in describing the affliction of Job than the felicities of Solomon. Prosperity is not without many fears and distaste; and adversity is not without comforts and hopes.
— Lord Bacon
Believers have unfruitful seasons but retain life, unlike the ungodly who are spiritually dead.
"True believers," said Gothold, "have seasons of unfruitfulness, in which they bring forth no good works, or devout thoughts and aspirations. They are like the trees in winter, which, although destitude of leaves, are not destitute of sap and life, and therefore, when spring returns, bud and blossom, and bear afresh. The ungodly, however, resemble withered trees, which, at all seasons alike, are without sap and life and fruit, and consequently are fit for nothing but the fire."
Christians often need trials like frost to reveal their true spiritual character.
Many Christians are like chestnuts, — very pleasant nuts, but enclosed in very prickly burs; which need various dealings of Nature, and her grip of frost, before the kernel is disclosed. Beecher.
Bad companions prevent spiritual growth just as pollution kills vegetation near copper-works.
In the neighborhood of Swansea, for miles around, no vegetation exists, owing to the smoke from the large copper-works there: even so, exposure to the influence of bad companions prevents man growing and flourishing in the divine life. Rev. T. Jones.
Good Christian company encourages spiritual growth and conversation about Christ.
It is said of Eliza the missionary, by one of his friends, "I was never with him but I got, or might have got, some good from his company." Archbishop Usher and Dr. Preston were very intimate, and often met to converse on learned and general subjects: when the archbishop used commonly to say, "Come, Doctor, let us have one word about Christ before we part."
Spiritual growth requires steady steps from initial faith to full assurance.
He that is to climb up some high ladder must not think, that, setting his foot upon the lowest round, he can skip over all the rest, and reach the top without further effort. Such is the course of our life. The first step is thought of God; the last step full assurance: but there are in the middle many other steps, as of means, which if we miss, we never come to the top, but perish in the midway, to all eternity.
— Spencer
Small beginnings can overcome great evils by attacking their roots with God's help.
It is reported, that, in early times, the crocodiles became so numerous, and troublesome to the inhabitants along the Nile, that they made great efforts to destroy them, and cried to their god Osiris to help them. Then a little animal, the ichneumon, appeared. "Behold, Osiris sends help!" said a priest. "How dost thou mock us?" said the people. "Wait for the issue, and confide in the Supreme Power. By the hand of Deity great things may be brought to pass by means apparently trifling," answered the priest. The little animal went about destroying the eggs and young of the crocodile, and soon released the land of its plague, which all the people failed to do. "See!" said the wise priest, "if you wish to extinguish an evil, attack its germs and roots; then a trifle may do what afterwards the united efforts of many will fail to accomplish."
Environment and purity affect spiritual growth and the fruitfulness of the believer.
The foal of the racer neither finds out his speed, nor calls out his powers, if pastured out with the common herd that are destined for the collar or the yoke. — Colton. — Unless your cask is perfectly clean, whatever you pour into it turns sour. Horace.
Newly gained senses require learning to understand and perceive the world properly.
A young woman in England, born stone blind, was recently restored to perfect vision in four days by a surgical operation. The effect of her new sense was most curious. She at first had no idea whatever of perspective. She put her hand to the window to try to catch the tree on the other side of the street, and was utterly ignorant also of common things, — what such things as a bunch of keys were, or a watch, or a common cup and saucer; but when she shut her eyes, and was allowed to touch them, she told them at once.
Enemies help develop Christian virtues like love, patience, and holiness.
It was the saying of Socrates, that every man had need of a faithful friend and a bitter enemy; the one to advise him, and the other to make him look about him. Much good cometh by enemies; and a good use may be made of them. They are the workmen that fit and square us for God's building; they are the rods that beat off the dust, and the scullions that scour off the rust, from our souls. Were it not for enemies, how could we exercise the graces of love and charity, patience and brotherly kindness? Further: enemies are the fire that purgeth, the water that cleanseth, the dross of our hearts. Spencer.
Moral enterprises grow slowly at first, then rapidly flourish when foundations are strong.
All human affairs follow Nature's great analogue,—the growth of vegetation. There are three periods of growth in every plant. The first, and slowest, is the invisible growth by the root; the second, and much accelerated, is the visible growth by the stem; but, when root and stem have gathered their forces, there comes the third period, in which the plant quickly flashes into blossom, and rushes into fruit. The beginnings of moral enterprises in this world are never to be measured by any apparent growth.
The flesh is like roots nourishing fruitfulness but must remain low and controlled.
FLESH, Use of the Polydorus, a heathen youth, had abandoned the crooked path of idolatry, and received with a faithful heart the words of truth. As he condemned the lusts of paganism, and repented of his former life, he retired into a solitary place, and renounced every pleasure of nature and life. Then Justus his master, who had converted him, went to the youth, and took him to a tree planted by a brook, bearing flowers and fruit, and said to him, "Polydorus observe this tree. The Lord has given it to us for an example, that we may be rich in good fruit. The youth looked at the tree, and said, "The tree is happy without temptations and the war against the flesh: it fulfils its destiny in silence, bearing flowers and fruit in its season." Then the old man smiled, and said, "Would not the tree be more perfect without the low root creeping along in the dark soil, and drinking the slimy nourishment from the brook?"—"But," said the youth, "it supports the stem of the tree, and provides it with sap to bring forth flowers and fruit." Then the old man lifted up his voice, and said, "Go thou, and do likewise." Despise not the senses, nor their influence; for they are the low root of life: but let them always be low. Form what this root conveys to thee into spiritual flowers and fruit. Like the branches and the twigs of the tree, all thy thoughts and doings will then be directed towards heaven; and the light of truth will silently lead thee to perfection." Polydorus left the wilderness, lived in intercourse with mankind, and taught many by word and example. Krummacher.
Spiritual growth requires deep roots and nourishment from God's providence for maturity.
A tree or plant sends its roots downward, and its stems upward. The roots are the mouths of the tree. Through them, they take up from the soil whatever is necessary to their growth. As the trunk and branches of a tree increase, the roots spread out, so as to absorb more nutritive salt. The earth and the air furnish the material with which the tree is built up. The soil contains substances, which, loosened by the frost or the plough, or by water, are dissolved by it, and prepared as food for the hungry tree. The leaves are the lungs of trees. With these they inhale the atmosphere, and elaborate such gases as the nature of the species requires. The rain, the snow, the frost, the sunshine, the wind, all help to mature the tree, till it stands with buttressed roots and giant arms, the king of the forest. It gives us a lesson for human life, — shows the importance of fundamental work, and the way to secure maturity of character, and strengthens faith in the providence of God.
Growth in grace means becoming progressively better until all sin is removed.
A Quaker congregation had been sitting in silence for a long time, when a little boy between five and six years of age stood up, and, with a childish lisp, gave utterance to the following: "My friends, I wish the Lord would make us all gooder and gooder and gooder, till there is no bad left!"
True spiritual growth shows in humility, peace, usefulness, and concern for others and God’s honor.
Growth in grace manifests itself by a simplicity, that is, a greater naturalness of character. There will be more usefulness, and less noise; more tenderness of conscience, and less scrupulosity; there will be more peace, more humility. When the full corn is in the ear, it bends down because it is full. — Cecil. — Religion, in its rise, interests us almost exclusively about ourselves; in its progress, it engages us about the welfare of our fellow-creatures; in its more advanced stages, it animates us to consult in all things, and to exalt, to the utmost of our power, the honor of our God. Simon.
Spiritual growth takes time and patience; progress is gradual, not instant.
Watch and pray against failures, but take heed of desponding under them. Be content to travel as you are able. The oak springs from the acorn, but does not become a tree at once. Because the stage-wagon cannot travel to York as fast as the stage-coach can, would you say it will never get there? The mushroom springs up in a night; but what is a mushroom? Do not be satisfied to be a dwarf, but remember that there must be time to grow.
— Mrs. Hawkes
Some growth can be rapid, but true maturity requires time and proper conditions.
The simplest plants — the coniferous, algae lichens, and mushrooms — consist only of soft cellular tissues; and in these, owing to their loose nature, growth frequently proceeds with a marvellous celerity. In twenty-five minutes, a mushroom shoots up three inches high; and another species, in a single night, swells from the size of a pin's head to that of a large pumpkin. The necrocystus luteæ, an alga occurring on the north-west coast of America, which has stems resembling whipcord, three hundred feet in length, and terminating with a bunch of leaves thirty or forty feet long, is but the produce of a single summer. Hartwig.
Small, unseen efforts build a strong spiritual life over time.
Tiniest insects build up loftiest mountains. Broad bands of solid rock, which undergird the earth, have been welded by the patient, constant toil of invisible creatures, working on through the ages, unlasting, unresting, fulfilling their Maker's will. On the shores of primeval oceans, watched only by the patient stars, these silent workmen have been building for us the structure of the world. And thus the obscure work of unknown nameless ages appears at last in the sunlight, the adorned and noble theatre of that life of man, which, of all that is done in this universe, is fullest before God of interest and hope. It is thus, too, in life. The quiet moments build the years. The labors of the obscure and unremembered hours edify that palace of the soul in which it is to abide, and fabricate that organ whereby it is to work and express itself through eternity.
— J. B. Brown
Man progresses spiritually and intellectually, reflecting growth from creation to present.
The sun does not shine brighter than it did on Adam; the ocean is not more grand now than when the old Phoenicians plied it with their oars; the birds do not sing more sweetly now than they did in the bowers of Eden. But how man progresses! Compare England now with what it was when Caesar landed on its shore; compare the boy Newton with Sir Isaac Newton the astronomer; compare Saul of Tarsus with Paul at Athens. Dr. Thomas.
Using scriptural means like prayer and fellowship revives the soul and brings spiritual blessing.
We are bound to use every scriptural means to obtain the good we need. The sanctuary, the meeting for prayer, the Bible, the company of the saints, private prayer and meditation, — these revive the soul. We must dig the wells. If there be rocky granite, we must bore it. We must not be disturbed from perseverance by the labor of our duties, but continue to dig still; and, (what a mercy!) if the well has ever so small a bore, the water will flow.
— Spurgeon
Even if Scripture isn't remembered, its reading cleanses and benefits the heart.
I have some where read a story of one who complained to an aged holy man, that he was much discouraged from reading the Scriptures, because he could fasten nothing on his memory that he had read. The old man bade him take an earthen pitcher, and fill it with water: when he had done it, he bade him empty it again, and wipe it clean, that nothing should remain in it; which when the other had done, and wondered to what this tended, "Now," said he, "though there be nothing of the water remaining in it, yet the pitcher is cleaner than it was before. So though thy memory retain nothing of the Word thou readest, yet thy heart is the cleaner for its very passage through."
— Hopkins
Cultivating all mental faculties leads to a fruitful and compassionate life.
Your minds are endowed with a vast number of gifts of totally different uses, — limbs of mind, which, if you don't exercise you cripple. One is curiosity, — that is a gift, a capacity of pleasure in knowing, which if you destroy, you make yourselves cold and dull. Another is sympathy,—the power of sharing the feelings of living creatures; which if you destroy, you make yourselves hard and cruel. Another of your limbs of mind is admiration,—the power of enjoying beauty or ingenuity; which if you destroy, you make yourselves base and irreverent. Another is wit,—the power of playing with the lights of the many sides of truth; which if you destroy, you make yourselves gloomy, and less useful and cheering to others than you might be. In choosing your way of work, it should be your aim, as far as possible, to bring out all these faculties; not one merely, but all of them. The way to bring them out is to concern yourselves attentively with the subjects of each faculty. To cultivate sympathy, you must be with living creatures, and thinking about them; and, to cultivate admiration, you must be among beautiful things, and looking at them.
— J. Ruskin
Without cultivation, even rich minds cannot produce good fruit.
As the soil, however rich it may be, cannot be productive without culture, so the mind without cultivation can never produce good fruit. Seneca.
Morality without true spiritual life is a poor imitation, lacking soul's anchorage.
The man who tries to cut himself and square his conduct merely by the outward pattern of morality is as the artist, who, instead of studying his art from the boundless and glorious pictures God has painted on the earth and in the sky, goes into some dim gallery, and pores over what hangs there, until he can badly imitate the stiff drapery, uncouth figures, inhuman adults, and monstrous pumpkin-headed children, that the canvas before him exhibits. Ha! you love to laugh at the artists: but what do you think the angels do at you, who prostitute not merely your fingers and imaginations, but your whole spiritual nature, to the work of making, not bad pictures, but bad, incomplete, poverty-stricken men? "Is not morality good, as far as it goes?" say you. "Yes, certainly, as far as it goes." — "Isn't my cable as good as yours, as far as it goes?" says the sailor who has a short cable to him who has one very long. "Yes," says the other, "as far as it goes; but what of that, when it won't go within fifty fathoms of bottom?" And of what use, O moralist! is your cable, when it will not go within fifty fathoms of the place where it can take hold upon the soul's anchorage? Beecher.
Old age can be a time of learning and growth, not stagnation.
Socrates, at an extreme old age, learned to play on musical instruments. Cato, at eighty years of age, began to learn the Greek language. Petrarch, when between seventy and eighty, commenced the study of Latin. Ludovico, at the great age of one hundred and fifteen, wrote the memoirs of his own time. Acero, a great lawyer, being asked why he began the study of law so late, replied, that indeed he began it late, but he should therefore master it sooner. Franklin did not commence his philosophical pursuits until he had reached his fiftieth year. Ogilvie, the translator of Homer and Virgil, was unacquainted with Latin and Greek till he was past fifty. Colbert, the famous French minister, at sixty years of age returned to his Latin and law studies.
Spiritual ability develops gradually through consistent practice and habit.
An emir bought a left eye of a glass-maker, and was vexed that
# PRACTICE.
he could not see with it. The man begged him to give it a little time: he could not expect that it would see, all at once, as well as the right eye, which had been so many years in the habit of it. W. K. Kelley.
God enlarges our hearts to help us run the race of obedience effectively.
A Scotch preacher, reading the Hundred and Nineteenth Psalm, "I will run the way of Thy commandments when Thou shalt enlarge my heart," added, "Well, David, what is your first resolution?—'I will run.' Run away, David, what hinders you? What is your next?—'I will run the way of Thy commandments.' Better run yet, David. What is your next?—'I will run the way of Thy commandments when Thou shalt enlarge my heart.' No thanks to you, David: we could all run as well as you with such help."
