The Message of the Flowers
By Editor
THIS is the season of the year when those who listen for it may hear the voice of the Lord in the field and in the forest, saying, “Awake, awake; put on thy strength!” And in response to this call to new life and action, innumerable spires of grass lift up their heads and rejoice. “He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth.” And myriads of branches of trees, which have been bared to the pitiless storms of winter, will soon be clothed with the beautiful garments which are woven by the power of the living word. The Message of the Flowers
THE Lord has written a message for us on every blade of grass, and he wishes us to read it. This is just as much for our learning as the things which were written aforetime. Has he not said unto us, “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: and yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?” Upon every spire of grass, upon every leaf and blossom, is written in living form the gospel of the manifested life, and we are assured by them that the life also of Jesus may be made manifest in our mortal bodies. As an essential part of this lesson comes the teaching that the beauty in which God delights is not the artificial adornment which human skill can supply, but that beauty which is simply the outward revelation of the inward life. “Our Saviour bade us consider the lilies how they grow, not merely because of their lavish wealth of beautiful adorning, but because of the most important lessons for the spiritual life which they suggest. They are decked with more than the glory of Solomon, because they have more than the wisdom of Solomon to teach us.” BUT all this lavish revelation of life and power is not merely that the earth may be covered with a beautiful carpet, and that the bare branches may be decked in beautiful garments. There is abundant beauty, and it is right to enjoy it all, but the beauty is, after all, merely incidental, although showing at the same time how the highest type of genuine beauty is consistent with the most commonplace service. For the grass and the leaves and the blossoms have a definite service to perform. They are not called into being merely to be beautiful, merely to be looked at. They have a mission to perform in what we call the economy of nature, which is simply the visible working of God's life about us. Each one fills its place and renders its service in harmony with the great plan of the Creator of all, and by this willing and harmonious co-operation the whole scheme of God's providence is wrought out. From mountain, field, and forest there comes with a loud voice the divine lesson, “None of us liveth to himself,” “By love serve one another.” “There is no leaf of the forest, or lowly blade of grass, but has its ministry. Every tree and shrub and leaf pours forth that element of life, without which neither man nor animal could live; and man and animal, in turn, minister to the life of tree and shrub and leaf. The flowers breathe fragrance and unfold their beauty in blessing to the world.” They all teach us the blessed gospel of service. BUT the lesson of service is not the only lesson which this season of awakening teaches us. This annual miracle of the putting forth of the leaves, and the assurance which it is of a change in the seasons, have been used by our Saviour in his teaching as the measure of our certainty concerning the nearness of his coming when certain signs have been fulfilled. “And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; when they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.” That this means definitely the coming of the Lord is evident from what is said in Matthew's record. “When ye shall see all these things, know that he is near, even at the doors.” In this generation, therefore, when all these signs mentioned by the Saviour are in the past, every spring season with its budding and blossoming trees is an emphatic reminder that the coming of the Lord is just as surely near as is the coming of the summer. The Lord has given to believers abundant ground for certainty concerning the nearness of the greatest event of the ages,—his second coming to this earth. “Ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.” And the certainty of the nearness of the coming of the Lord should be a cause of rejoicing, as it is the consummation of our redemption. All nature unites in the rejoicing over this blessed redemption. “Sing, O ye heavens; for the Lord hath done it: shout, ye lower parts of the earth: break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree therein: for the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in Israel.” And so all nature rejoices in view of the Lord's coming. “Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fullness thereof. Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice before the Lord; for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth.” Let all those who are “looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ,” read with renewed interest and expectancy the message of the flowers and the trees, and with an increasing sense of joy and certainty join in the grand awakening of the season, give themselves anew to service, and thus await the glorious springtide of the centuries, “the manifestation of his coming.”