Leaving home for a few
days’ absence, we lowered the window shades and closed the doors. But we had
left behind us in that dark house a beautiful little plant. Upon our return we
soon discovered that a great change had taken place in it. Its freshness and
beauty had passed away and the flower had greatly wilted. We lost no time in
letting in both sunshine and fresh air; then we poured water upon and around
the plant.

    Lacking those three
things essential to plant life—sunlight, fresh air, and water—it had suffered
and withered. With the loving care that ministered these things to it again,
its freshness, color, and bloom began to reappear, and it made us rejoice. It
seemed to smile in our faces and be grateful for the care bestowed. At the same
time we had learned a valuable spiritual lesson:

    The Plant spoke to
us of each plant of our heavenly Father’s planting—those who form part of His
garden (Matt. 15:13; Cant. 4:12-16).

    Sunlight, so
necessary for the health and beauty of the plant, speaks of communion of heart
with our Lord now in the heavens. He is the true “Sun of righteousness” (Mal.
4:2).

    Water that
ministers to the life of the plant is a symbol of the precious ministry of the
Holy Spirit by means of the Word of God. Ministry like this, day by day, is the
sustaining power of the Christian’s life. It puts freshness and beauty upon it.

    Fresh Air, so
imperative for a healthy condition, speaks of the moral and spiritual
atmosphere in which we live and move day by day, including the people with whom
we enjoy heart-to-heart communion, and the things with which we are occupied.

    We might pause for a
little and take warning concerning these three essentials to all life:

    Sunlight. How
diligently we need to guard ourselves lest there be any neglect of communion of
heart and feeling with our Lord and Saviour. The least neglect in this respect
will show itself soon. It was communion with Him that made the faces of Moses
and Stephen to shine (Exod. 34:35; Acts 6:15). Neglecting this, the lovely
graces and the spirituality of the Christian life will disappear (2 Cor. 3:18;
Eph. 5:8-14).

    Water. There will
be no lack of the enjoyment of the Spirit’s ministry if communion of heart with
Christ is sought and enjoyed. It is the Spirit’s ministry, through the medium
of the Holy Scripture, that puts us in touch with Christ where He now is in the
heavenly glory. This precious ministry to God’s people is as the water to
nourish and sustain the life—to impart bloom, freshness, and beauty, and fill
the life with such fragrance as we should look for from plants in the King’s
garden.

    Fresh Air. No
plant of God’s planting can thrive except in the atmosphere of the new
creation. Where can the devoted child of God find such an atmosphere? How
important the question and what exercise and searching of heart the subject
requires:“For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of
the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world” (1
John 2:16). Well might we search ourselves and ask, “What is the fellowship
that I seek? Is it that of the Father and the Son, or that of the world?”

    How we are drawn to the
little plant to learn from it the serious lessons from the school of God’s creation! Properly learned they will lead the soul away from the
world-bordering spirit of the times in which we live, when the theater, the
opera, the novel, the loose literature, and the card games [and their
modern-day correlates] are often found with the profession of Christianity. As
impure air robs the plant of its freshness, this spirit robs the Christian life
of all spirituality! (Rom. 12:1,2; 2 Cor. 6:14-18; 2 Tim. 2:19-22).

    May we, in view of all
this, seek the bright sunlight, the good water, and the pure atmosphere
of communion with the Father and the Son. Then growth, freshness, and
fruitfulness will result, gladdening both God and His people.

 

* * * * *

 

     One great thing we have
to seek is that communion with Christ be as strong as all the doctrines we hold
or teach. Without that, the doctrines themselves will have no force.                      J.N.
Darby