,parables of the ,christ-life1 by ,i4 ,lilias ,trotter ,marshall ,brothers1 ,ltd4 ,london ,edinburgh4 ,to ,f4,n4,f4 ,b4,g4,l4,n4 ,g4,s4,t4 ,a4,m4,e4 'fellow workers unto the kingdom of ,god4' ,,life--the first glance would hardly find it on this ,african hillside in the summertime4 ,the hot wind of the desert has passed over it1 and the spring beauty of iris and orchid1 asphodel and marigold1 has vanished4 ,nothing is to be seen but the mellow golden-brown of the grass1 broken by blue-green aloe leaves1 and here and there a deep madder head of dried-up fennel4 ,yet life is reigning1 not death1 all the while2 it is there1 in infinitely greater abundance than when the field was green--life enough to clothe a score of fields next year4 ,stoop down and look into that withered grass1 and a whole new world of ,god's handiwork will come into view in the burnt-up tangle4 ,for of all the growing things out here1 the seed-vessels are among the most wonderful4 ,even little insignificant plants that would hardly catch your eye when in flower1 develop forms of quaint beauty as the capsules ripen4 ,and now that all is finished1 they lie stored with vitality in the midst of the seeming loss around4 ,do you see the parable8 ,we will trace it out step by step4 ,back we must go1 to the days of early spring4 ,the annuals that clothed the field had each but one life then2 a perishing life1 though it looked so strong in its young vigour4 ,left to itself1 it stood condemned already4 ,but the critical moment came1 changing its whole destiny1 when a new birth took place3 the vitalizing pollen was received by the pistil1 and set up the reign of a fresh undying creation4 ,all that had gone before in the plant's history was a preparation for this moment3 all that followed was a working out to its fruition4 ,verily1 verily ,i say unto thee1 except a man be born again1 he cannot see the ,kingdom of ,god4 ,every soul carries like the flower a possible life1 other than that of its first birth2 more than that1 to every soul within reach of the ,gospel there comes probably a moment when the ,life of ,god draws near and could be received if it were willing4 ,there is a crisis like that which the flower reaches1 when all things are ready4 ,if that crisis is not seized1 nothing lies before the plant but useless1 irrevocable decay2 the power to receive withers and vanishes2 and nothing can renew it4 ,that which is born of the flesh is flesh1 and that which is born of the ,spirit is spirit4 ,marvel not that ,i said unto thee1 ye must be born again4 ,flesh and blood cannot inherit the ,kingdom of ,god1 neither doth corruption inherit incorruption4 ,are you letting pass the moment on which all eternity hangs8 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,the hour at which this new birth can take place in the flower is the hour at which the stigma is able to grasp the pollen that comes to it1 blown by the wind or carried by the bees and butterflies4 ,up till then the grains fall off unheeded2 but now it develops a surface1 glutinous in some cases1 velvety in others1 that can clasp and keep them fast4 ,the pollen grains lay hold at the same moment by their sculptured points and ridges4 ,they apprehend each other1 and the pollen1 with its mysterious quickening power1 does the rest4 ,as soon as it is received it sinks down into the innermost depths of the flower's heart1 and starts there the beginning of the new creation4 ,the most wonderful secrets of the plant world hang round the process of fertilisation1 and the ways in which these springs of the second birth are guarded and set going1 but the flower's simple work is to open and receive4 ,the gift of ,god is eternal life--oh1 marvellous words6--through ,jesus ,christ our ,lord4 ,as many as received ,him1 to them gave ,he power to become the sons of ,god1 even to them that believe on ,his name4 ,he that hath the ,son hath life1 and he that hath not the ,son of ,god hath not life4 ,behold ,i stand at the door and knock3 if any man hear ,my voice and open the door1 ,i will come in to him4 ,it is utterly1 unbelievably simple4 ,receive ,jesus with a heart-grasp1 and you will find1 like the flower1 a spring of eternal life1 entirely distinct from your own1 that is perishing1 set working deep down in your inmost being4 ,and all that is needed1 for the fulfilment of ,god's uttermost purpose for you1 is that this new man should be formed and that the old should pass away4 ,from the very outset of its new birth we see this double process going on in the plant4 ,within a few hours the throb of new life has spread through the flower1 with this first result1 that the petals begin to wither4 ,fertilisation marks the striking of the death-blow to all that went before4 ,look at a clover head2 do you know why some of the spikes are upright and others turned downwards and fading8 ,it is because these last have received the new tide1 and the old is ebbing out already4 ,the birth-peal and the death-knell rang together4 ,fertilisation marks the death of the flower and the death of the flower the death of the annual1 though the carrying out of its doom comes gradually4 ,and in like manner the sentence of death passes1 in the ,cross1 on the old nature in its entirety1 as the new comes into being4 ,this is the one only basis and groundwork for all carrying out in our practical experience of what that death means4 ,once for all let this be clear4 ,apart from the work done on ,calvary1 all working out of a death process in our own souls is only a false and dangerous mysticism444 4 ,i have been crucified with ,christ4 7,r4 ,v47--,yes1 long before ever ,i asked to be--glory be to ,god6 and yet as freshly as if it were yesterday1 for time is nowhere with ,him4 ,and simultaneously1 in figure1 in the little flower-heart1 while that which is natural begins to fade1 that which is spiritual dawns4 ,the seed-vessel with its hidden treasure--the ultimate object of this miracle of quickening--begins immediately to form4 ,it was within three days of the heavenly vision when the once rejected ,jesus was received by ,st4 ,paul1 that the commission came--he is a chosen vessel unto ,me1 to bear ,my ,name4 ,a chosen vessel unto ,him4 ,the seed-vessel belongs to the seed1 only and for ever3 it is formed for itself and has no purpose apart4 ,separation has nothing austere and narrow in it when it is unto ,him4 ,chosen vessels to bear ,his ,name--,his personality2 with all that is wrapped up in that ,name of fragrance and healing1 authority and power2 chosen to go about this weary sinful world with the living ,christ folded in our hearts1 ready and able as of old to meet the need around4 ,is not this a calling for which it is worth counting1 as ,st4 ,paul did1 all things but loss8 ,chosen vessels--there is the vessel and there is the treasure in it1 for ever distinct1 though in wonderful union1 like the seed-vessel and the seed3 the one enshrines the other4 ,god builds up a shrine within us of ,his workmanship1 from the day in which ,jesus was received4 ,the seed-vessel is its picture4 ,with the old nature ,he can have nothing to do except to deliver it to death3 no improving can fit it for ,his purpose1 any more than the leaf or tendril1 however beautiful1 can be the receptacle of the seed4 ,there must be a new creation 7,r4,v41 margin71 the new man1 to be the temple of the ,divine ,life4 ,and as the petals drop off1 and the growing seed-vessel comes into view1 we see a fresh individuality developed4 ,compare in these four pages some of the seed-vessels of a single family--vetch and clover3 we found over thirty species of it in that one field of the frontispiece4 ,these will show something of their extraordinary variety--we have bunches of horns great and small1 and bunches of imitation centipedes1 and bunches of mock holly leaves1 prickly coils and velvety balls2 mimic concertinas1 and bits of quaint embroidery2 imitation snail-shells1 croziers1 pods with frills at the seams1 spiked caskets with curious indentations1 clusters of stars1 bladders like soft paper1 and plaited spirals wound into a tiny cocoanut1 that1 untwisted1 becomes a minature crown of thorns--are they not all a visible expression of the thoughts that are more than can be numbered8 ,and the greater part spring from little unnoticeable flowers1 so alike in their yellow or pink that you have to look closely in order to find out any difference6 ,it is the seed-bearing that gives them their individual character4 ,and the same ,god has manifold plans for our development too1 as vessels for ,his ,christ-life4 ,it is by the ,divine indwelling that our true1 eternal personality dawns1 and for the expression of the special manifestation of ,himself which is entrusted to each one of us4 ,the protoplasm that quickens each different seed is one and the same essence1 but in no two does it find the same expression4 ,he needs the whole ,church to manifest ,his whole character and accomplish ,his appointed ministry1 and so the individual development must differ widely in everything but the common vital principle4 ,life--eternal life--is the essence of all--life receiving and life-giving4 ,there is no need to imitate the seed-vessel of a brother vetch6--only to draw into our own the fulness of grace that we may develop into its full individuality the mission entrusted to us4 ,there is nothing arbitrary in these differing shapes of the seed-vessels4 ,if we look closely1 we shall find that they are formed in union with the seed that each contains--it is this that determines the form of each1 and builds it up4 ,see these few instances3 the peas need their long pod with its daintily-cushioned divisions1 to allow each little globe to round itself to perfection2 the crescent-shaped seeds of this other vetch1 each set into its own place again1 form the distinctive character of their different sheath--so do the tiny rod-shaped ones of the third vetch1 which clothe themselves in a segmented rod in turn4 ,while on the other hand the fine sand-like grain of this snap-dragon needs storing in a capsule--such a quaint one it is 7whether most like a bird or a mouse sitting on a twig is hard to say7--but it is a perfectly adapted treasure-bag for the delicate things1 and when they are ripe the two eyes open1 and the wind shakes the seed out by them6 ,each one lays itself out for the special trust committed to it4 ,is it not the same wonderful ,fashioner ,who fits us and our ministry together1 and forms us through it with unerring precision1 preparing us for the white stone and the new name which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it1 eternity's seal on the heavenly individuality of each4 ,that eternal future will show how the ,lord had need of each of us in our varying character1 and how all that made up this earthly life fitted us for bearing about the special manifestation of ,jesus entrusted to us1 in which no other could take our place4 ,he needs us1 every one of us1 as if there were no other besides4 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,but we will go back from this glimpse of ,god's ultimate purpose for us1 to watch the process by which it is reached1 so far as we can trace it in the ripening of the little annuals4 ,the figure will not give us all the steps by which ,god gets ,his way in the intricacies of a human soul3 we shall see no hint in it of the cleansing and filling that is needed in sinful man before he can follow the path of the plant4 ,it shows us some of the ,divine principles of the new life rather than a set sequence of experience2 above all1 the parable gives a lesson that most of us only begin to learn after ,pentecost has become a reality to us--the lesson of walking1 not after the flesh1 but after the ,spirit4 ,the flesh--the life of nature--is all1 good and bad alike1 that we had and were before ,christ came to us4 ,we see its shadow in the life of root and stem1 leaf and tendril and petal1 that made up the plant before its new birth took place2 for all flesh is grass1 and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field4 ,it is not only that which is sinful as opposed to that which is holy3 it is that which is human as opposed to that which is ,divine4 ,in the earlier stage of the seed-vessel's growth we see the two lives1 the old and the new1 practically going on alongside4 ,and can we not remember1 many of us1 in our own history1 how the self life went almost untouched and unrecognised1 for years1 while all the time ,christ was growing within us1 and our ministry was being given8 ,let us look at the seed-vessels1 well set and forming fast1 with their natural life all unbroken as yet1 and learn to be very tender and patient with the early stages of ,god's work in those around4 ,but though the two may exist for a time side by side1 they cannot flourish together4 ,the crisis must come to us as to the annual1 when the old creation begins to go down into the grave1 and the new begins to triumph at its cost4 ,in the plant life the two are absolutely and for ever separate--there is no possibility of confounding the perishable existence of leaf and stalk with the newborn seed-vessel and its hidden riches4 ,in the heavenly light the distinction stands out as ineffaceably4 ,that which is born of the flesh is flesh1 and that which is born of the ,spirit is spirit4 ,but our eyes are too dim at first to distinguish them in detail3 with most of us it is only when the cleansing ,blood has dealt with the question of known sin1 and the ,spirit's incoming has cleared our vision1 that the two lives1 natural and spiritual1 begin to stand out before us1 no longer shading into each other1 but in vivid contrast4 ,the word of ,god in the hand of the ,holy ,ghost pierces to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit1 and we see bit by bit as we can bear it1 how we have made provision for the flesh1 given occasion to the flesh1 had confidence in the flesh1 warred after the flesh1 judged after the flesh1 purposed after the flesh1 known each other after the flesh4 ,the carnal nature with its workings stands out as the hindrance in the way of the ,divine1 and the time comes when we see that no more growth is possible to the ,christ in us unless a deliverance comes here4 ,we are helpless in the matter4 ,there is no system of self-repression or self-mortification that will do anything but drive the evil below the surface1 there to do a still more subtle work1 winding down out of reach4 ,the roots will only strike deeper and the sap flow stronger for the few leaves trimmed off here and there4 ,if self sets to work to slay self it will only end in rising hydra-headed from the contest4 ,how is the deliverance to come8 ,the annuals give us the secret4 ,look back at the vetch seed-vessels4 ,why is it that the leaves which used to stand firm and fresh like those of the flowering clover1 have begun to shrivel and turn yellow8 ,it is because they have acquiesced wholly now in the death sentence of their new birth1 and they are letting the new life live at the expense of the old4 ,death is being wrought out by life4 ,and the same triumphant power of the new life is set free as we come to accept to its utmost limits the sentence of ,calvary1 that our old man was crucified with ,him1 in its sum-total1 seen and unseen1 root and branch4 ,christ is our ,life now--our only ,life--and we begin to find that ,he is dealing with the old creation1 we hardly know how4 ,we only know that as we bring the judgment1 the motive1 the aim that were ours1 not ,his1 into contact with ,him1 they shrivel and wither like the dying leaves4 ,the impulses and the shrinkings of the flesh perish in ,his ,presence alike4 ,the new life wrecks the old4 ,if ye through the ,spirit do mortify the deeds of the body ye shall live--that is what the withering leaves say4 ,we are saved by ,his life4 ,the great ,north ,african aloe plant shows this very strikingly4 ,it is like our annuals on a large scale1 for it flowers and seeds but once in its career1 though that numbers more years than these can count weeks4 ,up till then its thick hard leaves look as if nothing could exhaust their vigour4 ,the flower stalk pushes up from a fresh sheaf of them--up and up twelve or fourteen feet--and expands into a candelabra of golden blossom1 and not a droop comes in the plant below4 ,but as the seed forms1 we see that life is working death1 slowly and surely2 the swords lose their stiffness and colour and begin to hang helplessly1 and by the time it is ripe1 every vestige of vitality is drained away from them1 and they have gone to limp1 greyish-brown streamers4 ,the seed has possessed itself of everything4 ,and the meadow plants that we have been watching follow1 on their small pattern1 the same law4 ,all gives way to the ripening seed4 ,in the grasses the very root perishes by the time the grain is yellow1 and comes up whole if you try to break the stem4 ,they reign in life above through the indwelling seed1 while all that is corruptible goes down into dust below4 ,they have let all go to life--the enduring life3 they are not taken up with the dying--that is only a passing incident--everything is wrapped up into the one aim1 that the seed may triumph at any cost4 ,death is wrought out almost unconsciously3 the seed has done it all4 ,can we not trace the same dealing in our souls as1 slowly1 tenderly1 all that nourished that which is carnal is withdrawn1 giving way to the forming of the ,christ life in its place8 ,his thoughts and desires and ways begin to dethrone ours as the aloe seed dethrones its leaves and casts them to the ground4 ,he must increase1 but ,i must decrease4 ,and the outward dealings co-operate with the inward4 ,it is just in the very corner of everyday life where ,god has put us1 that this can take place1 and the surrounding influences can have their share in bringing down to death the old nature4 ,it is no mystical1 imaginary world that draws out the latent forms of self1 but the commonplace1 matter-of-fact world about us4 ,it is in contact with others1 for the most part1 that the humbling discoveries of the workings of the flesh come1 on the one hand1 and on the other we find ourselves breaking down in one after another of our strongest points4 ,and all these things that seem against us are really doing a blessed work--they are the ,wind of the ,lord coming up from the wilderness to spoil the treasure of all that is of former days4 ,everything that is natural1 good and bad alike1 must go down into death before its blast1 when ,god takes it in hand--all that we can lean upon in outward things1 all clinging to the visible and the transitory2 and with this result1 that our arms clasp closer and closer round the ,eternal ,seed1 ,christ in us the ,hope of ,glory--known no longer after the flesh1 but by the mighty revelation of the ,holy ,ghost4 ,all this is shadowed forth in the story of these southern plants2 one day's sirocco in ,may will turn a field1 bright with the last flowers1 into a brown wilderness1 where the passing look sees nothing but ruin--yet in that one day the precious seed will have taken a stride in its ripening that it would have needed a month of ordinary weather to bring about2 it will have drawn infinite life out of the fiery breath that made havoc with the outward and visible4 ,the grass withereth1 the flower fadeth1 because the ,spirit of the ,lord bloweth upon it4 ,but our light affliction 7and from the context we see that spiritual trial is included there7 which is but for a moment1 worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory--while we look not at the things which are seen1 but at the things which are not seen2 for the things which are seen are temporal1 but the things which are not seen are eternal4 ,in all the breaking down on the human side1 the hidden treasure is left not only unhurt but enriched4 ,everything that wrecks our hopes of ourselves1 and our earthly props1 is helping forward infinitely ,god's work in us4 ,so we faint not2 but though our outward man perish1 yet the inward man is renewed day by day4 ,god's purpose for us is that we should be seed-vessels2 all the rest may go down into nothingness1 for it profiteth nothing4 ,the plant does not faint in its inner heart4 ,little does it matter what happens to the corruptible3 each fading of the outward only marks a corresponding development of the incorruptible within4 ,what things were gain to me 7the words seem echoed from the fading leaves and the ripening seed71 those ,i counted loss for ,christ4 ,yea1 doubtless1 and ,i count all things but loss1 for the excellency of the knowledge of ,christ ,jesus my ,lord3 for whom ,i have suffered the loss of all things1 and do count them but dung1 that ,i may win ,christ4 ,this one thing ,i do4 ,they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh2 but they that are after the ,spirit1 the things of the ,spirit4 ,the plant has nothing to mind now but the treasure it bears4 ,its aim has grown absolutely simple4 ,in old days there was the complexity of trying to carry on two lives at once1 nourishing root and stem1 leaf and flower and tendril1 alongside the seed-vessel and the seed4 ,all that is over4 ,it withdraws itself quietly into the inner shrine where ,god is working out that which is eternal4 ,it has chosen1 in figure1 that good part which shall not be taken away3 it is pressing towards the mark for the prize of its calling4 ,pressing1 but in perfect rest4 ,they toil not1 neither do they spin1 these plants1 in their seed-bearing any more than in their flowering4 ,and when we have learnt something of their surrender1 we are ready for their secret of waiting on ,god's inworking4 ,how long we are in grasping that we are ,his workmanship1 even as they--in discovering the simple fact that it is exactly as impossible by our own striving to develop the ,christ-life in our hearts as to form the seed in the pod6 ,we have not to produce out of our higher nature a lowliness and a patience and a purity of our own1 but simply to let the pure1 patient1 lowly life of ,jesus have its way in us by yieldingness to it and by faith in its indwelling might4 ,all that ,god wants from man is opportunity4 ,the whole of our relationship to ,his power1 whether for sanctification or for service1 is summed up in those words4 ,surrender--stillness--a ready welcoming of all stripping1 all loss1 all that brings us low1 low into the ,lord's path of humility--a cherishing of every whisper of the ,spirit's voice1 every touch of the prompting that comes to quicken the hidden life within3 that is the way ,god's human seed-vessels ripen1 and ,christ becomes magnified even through the things that seem against us4 ,mine but to be still3 ,thine the glorious power1 ,thine the mighty will4 ,and it is not only the siroccos that help forward ,his purpose for us6 ,the clear heat and the midnight dews all minister together3 the sun to rule the day when ,his light and sweetness flood our souls2--the darkness--the cloudless darkness--of a walk by faith when the moon and the stars of the promises alone are visible3 ,his mercy endureth for ever through all alike and ,he uses them to their utmost that ,christ may be formed in us4 ,for the spirit of abandonment has to be carried into our spiritual life1 as well as into the things that only touch the natural4 ,the seed-vessel has to go down into death as well as the leaf4 ,look at it as it begins to pass into the valley of that shadow and its strength begins to ebb away4 ,it is only getting ready by its weakening1 for the service to which it has been called4 ,long ago we imagined1 it may be1 an enduement of power from on high in which we should have a conscious supply of the heavenly energising--a conscious equipment for every service--a reservoir of ,divine might that could be drawn on at will4 ,but watch the seed-vessel as the hour comes near in which its ministry can be fulfilled2 there is only weakness greater than ever before4 ,it is sown in weakness2 only in the raising does the power come into play4 ,i was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling4 ,and my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom1 but in demonstration of the ,spirit and of power3 that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men1 but in the power of ,god4 ,the weak things of the world hath ,god chosen4 ,we are weak with ,him 7margin7--oh6 words of wonderful grace and sweetness4 ,there is nothing but rest in being brought low with ,him4 ,and not only must our service feel this weakening touch3 it must go deeper yet4 ,our experiences1 the blessed hours of opened heavens1 must be held with a loose hand4 ,we saw the life withdrawn before from the leaves of the old creation into the seed-vessel of the new4 ,now it is withdrawn further still1 as ripeness comes1 from the seed-vessel into the seed4 ,in the early stages of ,christian path we are apt to be much taken up1 and rightly1 with the spiritual processes by which ,god is working in us4 ,but in the ripeness of maturity 7the real sense of perfect in ,col4 i4 #bh1 and elsewhere7 ,he has something better for us4 ,i live2 yet not ,i1 but ,christ liveth in me4 ,he wants to bring us from clinging to the emotional on one hand1 and on the other from morbid introspection3 for perhaps one of the chief dangers besetting those who are following hard after ,him1 lies in getting taken up with these inner experiences 7it is awfully possible for the devil to rivet the chains of self back on a soul even in the very act of watching the death process going on within it1 getting it absorbed even with its own dying674 ,let us come as fast as we can to letting the seed-vessel go as well as the leaves1 ,god wants to bring us to a life of childlike simplicity1 taken up with ,his ,christ2 always lower and lower at ,his feet in the consciousness of shortcoming and unworthiness as ,his ,glory shines1 but with our spiritual selves and all their intricacies fading out of sight before ,him4 ,as we go on1 we learn to draw the supply of every need for spirit and soul and body from the simplest1 barest1 most direct contact with ,him4 ,all the intervening tissues in the seed-vessel melt away4 ,you have learnt the death of self when there is nothing between your bare heart and ,jesus4 ,yes2 when the seed is ripe it fills up the whole of the husk--there is no room left for anything else3 the walls shrivel to a mere shell4 ,this is the calling of the ,bride--to have no room for anything but ,jesus4 ,blessed are they who hear it and respond4 ,look at the parable4 ,the life of leaf and tendril has shrunk away1 but there is nothing sad about the dying of the seed-vessel4 ,what lovely things they are1 these little burnt offerings6 ,their bright golden browns look far happier than the greens of spring4 ,and they have come now to a point of beautiful heedless freedom about the future4 ,when once the last shade of green that marks a clinging to the old days has vanished1 all carefulness for the earthly side of things vanishes too4 ,no matter how soon now the last strand of earthly support and supply gives way3 its loss is not felt4 ,the life is hid with such a hiding that nothing from around can touch it4 ,the fiercest summer glow only causes the little germ to wrap itself close together in happy recklessness1 the careless feet that tread it down can only hasten the burial that is its next stage onward1 the autumn storms can bring it nothing but fresh draughts of quickening4 ,yes1 our life is hid with ,christ in ,god1 in actual truth as well in ,god's purpose1 if it has come to this that it is no longer we that live but ,christ that liveth in us4 ,oh6 the simplicity of that no longer--as the seed-vessel pictures it now1 taken up with the seed it bears1 and heedless of itself and whatever may come4 ,and yet1 in the absolute simplicity1 there is a depth of mystery that the former days never knew4 ,it is like a soul that has come into the ,holiest1 where it has ,god alone4 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,and now we turn to the other side1 to watch what ,god can do1 in the world around1 with the ,christ-life that ,he creates in us4 ,we have seen its in-flowing3 we will follow its outflow4 ,to be to ,jesus all for which ,he has called us--letting ,him have ,his way utterly with us1 possessed by ,him1 taken up with ,him--that is the first purpose for our souls4 ,but the ,father's plan for us reaches wider than that1 though it can reach no deeper4 ,the first ,adam was made a living soul2 the last ,adam was made a quickening ,spirit4 ,his ultimate aim is to set free for ,his own use that which ,he has wrought in us in secret1 and to give us the power of communicating that ,divine life of which we have been made partakers4 ,we are to be good stewards of the manifold grace of ,god1 entrusted with the true riches to minister for ,him--,his for ,his spending4 ,the promise to ,abraham3 ,i will bless thee 444 and thou shalt be a blessing1 gives the double purpose for ,his people--grace for our own souls1 and apostleship for those around4 ,we have seen in parable1 in the seed's growing and ripening1 the work of the ,spirit within us1 forming the life of ,jesus1 and bringing down the flesh into the grave4 ,in its scattering we see shadowed forth the ,spirit upon us in ,his power of reaching other souls4 ,there is no needs be with us that this double work should be consecutive as in the plants--it may go on simultaneously4 ,there is never a moment1 from the first receiving of ,christ as ,saviour1 when the full outpouring of the ,holy ,ghost may not take place--never a moment when1 in figure1 the seed may not be set free4 ,there are some few who leap down1 as soon as they are saved1 to the simple1 bare1 lowly faith which liberates ,god's power1 and ,he can use them mightily all along1 but they are very few4 ,practically in most cases there is time involved1 because we take so long to unlearn our own sufficiency and our own resources1 and even after we have received the promise of the ,spirit through faith1 we are puzzled1 it may be1 by a want of continuity in ,his outflow4 ,it is because1 before ,god can get us to the place where ,he can send ,him through us in a steady tide1 we have to go lower than we dreamed of at first3 and ,he may have to stop using us for a time1 that ,he may deepen this work within1 and bring us to utter brokenness4 ,look at the last stage in the plant1 before the inwrought life is free for use4 ,there is a breaking-up and a breaking-down such as it never had before4 ,such brittleness comes as the seed ripens that it is almost impossible to pick some of the stems without cracking them in two or three places4 ,the ripened seed-vessels share the same brittleness3 you can hardly touch them without the whole crown falling to pieces in your hand4 ,conscious weakness1 as a preparation for service1 is one thing3 brokenness is another4 ,we may know that we are but earthen pitchers1 like ,gideon's1 with nothing of our own but the light within1 and yet we may not have passed through the shattering that sheds the light forth4 ,this does not mean something vague or imaginary1 but intensely practical4 ,read the description that ,paul gives of the life of ministry--the apostolic life--and see what it is to be a shattered seed-vessel2 it is no dreamy experience in the clouds6 ,let a man so account of us1 as of the ministers of ,christ1 and stewards of the mysteries of ,god444 4 ,we are made a spectacle to the world1 and to angels1 and to men4 ,we are fools for ,christ's sake1 but ye are wise in ,christ2 we are weak1 but ye are strong2 ye are honourable1 but we are despised4 ,even unto this present hour we both hunger and thirst and are naked and have no certain dwelling-place4 ,and labour1 working with our own hands3 being reviled1 we bless2 being persecuted1 we suffer it1 being defamed1 we intreat2 we are made as the filth of the world1 and are the offscouring of all things unto this day4 ,seeing we have this ministry1 as we have received mercy1 we faint not444 4 ,but we have this treasure in earthen vessels1 that the excellency of the power may be of ,god1 and not of us4 ,we are troubled on every side1 yet not distressed2 we are perplexed1 but not in despair2 persecuted1 but not forsaken2 cast down1 but not destroyed2 always bearing about in the body the dying of the ,lord ,jesus1 that the life also of ,jesus might be made manifest in our body4 ,for we which live are alway delivered unto death for ,jesus' sake1 that the life also of ,jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh4 ,in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of ,god1 in much patience1 in afflictions1 in necessities1 in distresses1 in stripes1 in imprisonments1 in tumults1 in labours1 in watchings1 in fastings4 444 ,by honour and dishonour1 by evil report and good report3 as deceivers and yet true2 as unknown and yet well known2 as dying1 and behold we live2 as chastened and not killed2 as sorrowful1 yet alway rejoicing2 as poor1 yet making many rich2 as having nothing1 and yet possessing all things4 ,are they ministers of ,christ8 7,i speak as a fool7 ,i am more2 in labours more abundant1 in stripes above measure1 in prisons more frequent1 in deaths oft4 ,of the ,jews five times received ,i forty stripes save one4 ,thrice was ,i beaten with rods1 once was ,i stoned1 thrice ,i suffered shipwreck1 a night and a day ,i have been in the deep2 in journeyings often1 in perils of waters1 in perils of robbers1 in perils by mine own countrymen1 in perils by the heathen1 in perils in the city1 in perils in the wilderness1 in perils in the sea1 in perils among false brethren2 in weariness and painfulness1 in watchings often1 in hunger and thirst1 in fastings often1 in cold and nakedness4 ,besides those things that are without1 that which cometh upon me daily1 the care of all the churches444 4 ,i take pleasure in infirmities1 in necessities1 in persecutions1 in distresses for ,christ's sake3 for when ,i am weak1 then am ,i strong4 ,do you notice that in each passage these are given as the marks of ministry8 ,such were what ,paul found to be the conditions of spiritual power4 ,their absence among us may account for its absence too6 ,oh6 how little we know of them in the midst of the spirit of luxury that is around us in the world and of the easy-going ,christianity of the ,church6 ,we cannot all be honoured by our service finding the same outward expression as his1 in its bodily stress and suffering1 but is there among us even a seeking after its spirit8 ,this is sacrifice1 'death in us1 life in you4'--,in us1 emptiness1 weakness1 suffering1 pressure1 perplexity4 ,in you life--life--life6 ,as if ,paul would say1 'the more ,i am pressed above measure1 the more the life of ,jesus is abundant in its outflow1 and in its quickening of other lives4' ,this is the apostolic life4 ,through the ,eternal ,spirit1 ,christ offered ,himself to ,god4 ,through the same ,spirit shall we be enabled to walk in ,his steps1 and to rejoice in 444 sufferings 444 and fill up 444 that which is lacking of the afflictions of ,christ in my flesh for ,his body's sake1 which is the ,church4' footnote993,the ,message of the ,cross--,mrs4 ,penn-,lewis4 ,yes1 it is a broken spirit that we need--a spirit keeping no rights before ,god or man1 longing to go down1 down1 anywhere1 if other souls may be blessed4 ,it is an indefinable thing1 this brokenness1 and yet it is as unmistakable when it has been wrought1 as that of the seed-vessel in the field4 ,god has ,his promise for those who sow in tears3 those to whom to be a channel of ,divine communication to the world means soul burden and travail4 ,it is they who are bound to reap in joy4 ,and as we look at these broken-up seed-vessels1 we can read a warning as to our dealings with others1 as well as the lesson to ourselves4 ,if such brokenness as this is the condition of ,god's power upon us1 what of the danger of making much of the instruments that ,he uses8 ,if we do so even in thought1 it will unconsciously show itself in manner and tone1 and the subtle influence may reach them and be used of the devil to build again in a moment that which ,god had been long breaking down1 and so stay the tide ,he had at last with infinite pains set free4 ,who then is ,paul1 and who is ,apollos1 but ministers by whom ye believed1 even as the ,lord gave to every man8 ,i have planted1 ,apollos watered2 but ,god gave the increase4 ,so then neither is he that planteth anything1 neither he that watereth2 but ,god that giveth the increase4 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,and now we can turn at last to see in our picture-book the result of all this fading and stripping and breaking3 no outcome as yet that will catch the eye of sense1 yet full of eternal possibilities4 ,what a marvel it is1 this seed endynamited for its ministry6 ,just an atom of whiteness1 folded up in its smooth brown shell4 ,opposite p4 #ce you see the two tiny specks in the splitting pod2 does it not seem incredible that anything can come out of them8 ,could we imagine anything more insignificant8 ,and yet they are brimful of a vitality that will last 7given the necessary conditions7 while the earth remaineth1 through harvest after harvest in ever-widening circles4 ,equally unimportant from the point of view of the natural man is the heavenly seed that ,god gives ,his people to scatter4 ,the things of the ,spirit of ,god 444 are foolishness unto him4 ,the kingdom of ,god cometh not with observation4 ,his beginnings are always very feeble things4 ,it is out of the hour of its greatest apparent extremity1 moreover1 that the seed launches out to its ministry4 ,there was a time1 a few weeks earlier1 when you could1 if you examined it1 trace the future plant in embryo2 the two seed-leaves and the rootlet were all visible in shades of exquisite green2 but all this dries up when maturity comes1 till there is not a sign of life left in it4 ,everything that is brilliant and beautiful is withdrawn and shrouded in the bare grain when we strip off the sheath and hold it in our hand3 everything has gone down in defiant faith to the last ebb4 ,nothing is left to it1 as far as we can discern1 but the invisible1 miracle-working power of ,god4 ,shall we not learn of the dried-up seed1 to rejoice when in our seed-sowing we are shut up to ,god alone--when every shade of hope and promise to the eyes of sense1 have faded like the baby seed-leaves in the germ8 ,so is the kingdom of ,god1 as if a man should cast seed into the ground2 and should sleep1 and rise night and day1 and the seed should spring and grow up1 he knoweth not how4 ,to sow heavenly seed means to give way to ,him in the promptings that are sure to come as soon as ,he finds us broken enough for ,him to be able to send them4 ,it is a direct passing on of that which comes to us from ,god1 stripped of all self-effort3 the message spoken not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth1 but which the ,holy ,ghost teacheth3 the work done striving according to ,his working which worketh in us mightily3 the prayer that knows not what it should pray for as it ought1 and yields itself to ,his intercession for us with groanings that cannot be uttered4 ,these are the things which1 small as they are in this world's count1 have the very pulse of eternity beating through them4 ,nothing but that which ,he inspires can carry quickening power3 no experience--no spirituality even1 can set the spark alight4 ,it is not the seed-vessel that can do the work1 any more than a bit of leaf-stalk or flower petal1 but simply and only the seed4 ,it is the ,spirit that quickeneth4 ,i believe in the ,holy ,ghost1 the ,lord and ,giver of ,life4 ,hallelujah6 ,let us watch the seed-shedding1 and see what it can teach us about sowing to the ,spirit4 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,there is a definite moment at which the seed is ripe for being liberated--that is the first thing we notice3 and at that moment it is absolutely ready for its work4 ,the storing of the nourishment for the young plant began on the very day when the new life entered the flower long ago1 and it is finished now4 ,all prepared too are the hooks1 or spikes1 or gummy secretions1 needed to anchor it to the ground1 and so to give a purchase to the embryo shoot when the time comes for it to heave its tombstone and come out to the light4 ,even its centre of gravity is so adjusted that1 in falling from the sheath1 the germ is in the very best position for its future growth4 ,if it is torn out of the husk a day too soon1 all this marvellous preparation will be wasted and come to nothing4 ,can we not read our parable8 ,how often we have had an impulse or a plan which we knew to be of ,god1 with a flash of intuition1 or with a gathering certainty3 and the temptation has come to carry it straight off by ourselves1 without waiting ,his time--the very temptation that beset the ,master in the wilderness4 ,oh6 let us learn of ,him the lesson of letting ,god's seed-purposes ripen6--they can bear no fruit till they have come to their maturity3 we shall but waste all ,he was preparing if we drag it out before its time4 ,and only in a path in which we are learning to do nothing of ourselves but what we see the ,father do1 can we know when ,his hour is come4 ,how accurately ,jesus knew it6 ,i go not up yet unto this feast1 for ,my time is not yet full come1 ,he said to ,his brethren--and yet in a day or two ,he was there4 ,mine hour is not yet come1 ,he said to ,his mother1 when it was only a question of minutes4 ,and by what marvellous insight ,he recognised the dawning of that final hour when ,he was asked for by those nameless ,greeks--a hint of the ingathering of the travail of ,his soul6 ,god can give us the same ,divine instinct1 when ,he has weaned us from our natural energy and impatience4 ,and when ,his hour has struck1 the whole powers of the world to come will be set free in the tiny helpless seed4 ,one day is with the ,lord as a thousand years4 ,he is a ,god worth waiting for6 ,and there is another thing closely linked with this patience in the seed-shedding4 ,as we watch it going on in nature1 we see how it is all done in cooperation with the forces at work outside itself4 ,the wind knocks off and tosses away the dainty shutde-cocks of the scabious as they ripen one by one1 and the pods wait for the hot touch of the sun to split them with the sudden contracting twist that sends the grains flying1 like stones from a sling4 ,more wonderfully still we see this working together in the seeding of the cranesbill4 ,the seeds stand together as they ripen1 like arrows in a quiver1 with their points downwards1 and their feathered shafts straight up4 ,when the time for action comes1 the sun-heat peels them off1 from below and above1 so quickly that you can see them cue under your eyes1 and turn into a spiral by their continued contractions4 ,they fall1 spike downward1 by the weight of the seed1 and the sun finishes the work he began4 ,closer still the gimlet winds1 and as it does so it bores down into the hardest soil3 and such is their strange power of penetration1 as they are driven in1 spite of all their weakness1 that they bury themselves up to the very hilt1 leaving only the last long curve flat on the surface4 ,then this snaps off1 and leaves the head deep hidden4 ,the spear-like grass you see opposite p4 #dj follows the same rule3 it is so sensitive to the heat that even the warmth of one's hand will set it twisting and thrusting its barb in4 ,cannot we trust the ,god ,who planned them1 to give us arrows that will be sharp in the hearts of ,his enemies1 and to drive them home8 ,at each fresh adaptation of the plants to their aim1 we hear an echo of the words of ,jesus1 ,shall ,he not much more clothe you1 ,o ye of little faith8 ,and the restfulness of waiting ,god's hour for seed-shedding deepens as we learn to recognise the outward dealings of the ,spirit as well as the inward1 and watch the marked way in which ,he co-operates with the setting free of every seed as it ripens--how ,he brings across our path the soul who needs the very lesson ,he has just been teaching us--how the chance comes with perfect naturalness of reaching another over whom we have been longing4 ,if our eyes are up1 and our hands are off--if we learn to wait on our ministering like the seeds1 in utter dependence on ,him1 we shall be able constantly to trace the ,lord's working with us1 and we shall have done with all the old restless striving to make opportunities--,we are labourers together with ,god4 ,yes1 it all centres round that question of quietness4 ,opportunity is given to every seed in its turn1 as they lie in their layers in the capsule1 or side by side in the pod4 ,not one forces its way forward1 or gets in the way of another4 ,look at the exquisite fitting in any seed-vessel that you pull to pieces3 the seeds are as close as they will go1 but fenced off from crowding on each other and hindering each other's growth4 ,he who packed them can be trusted1 surely1 with the arranging of our lives1 that nothing may jostle in them1 and nothing be wasted1 for we are of more value to ,him than these4 ,if our days are a constant rush and hurry1 week in and week out1 there is grave reason to doubt if it is all ,god-given seed that we are scattering4 ,he will give us no more to do than can be done with our spirits kept quiet and ready and free before ,him4 ,quiet and ready and free--that is another lesson that the seeds teach us4 ,off they go at a touch1 at the moment when the inward preparedness and the outward opportunity coalesce4 ,see the tiny corkscrews of the pink geranium in our meadow 7a miniature of its blue brother the cranesbill74 ,look at the poise of them--and then at the sheaf of spears of this bit of grass1 holding themselves freer still1 and the downy head alongside1 equally ready either to hold together or to fly with a breath 444 and then look at our lives and see whether that is their attitude towards the ,holy ,ghost4 ,is there a soul poise that corresponds8 ,oh6 the pains that ,god has to take to bring us to this happy1 childlike abandon1 equally ready for silence1 or for saying or doing unhesitatingly the next thing ,he calls for1 unfettered by surroundings or consequences4 ,how much reserve and self-consciousness have to give way with some of us1 before the absolute control passes into ,his ,hands1 and the responsibility with it6 ,then only can we know the liberty1 the boldness1 the utterance of ,pentecost4 ,whithersoever the ,spirit was to go they went1 thither was their spirit to go3 that is the perfect law of liberty4 ,yes1 and that brings us a step further in the teachings of the seed-shedding4 ,off they go now1 every one straight forward--off and onward to the place appointed4 ,look at the golden plough of the wild oat1 with every spike and hair so set that it slips forwards and will not be pushed backwards4 ,look at the hooks and the barbs that cling to anything and everything that passes by if only they can carry their seed away and away4 ,look at the balls and the wheels that roll before the wind1 and the parachutes and baby shuttlecocks that sail upon it3 they all have a passion for getting far off1 and they only show us a few of the numberless devices by which the same end is reached in plants of all lands4 ,do you know why they want to scatter8 ,it is because ,god planned the rotation of crops1 long before it ever entered a farmer's brain6 ,around the parent stem the soil is exhausted of the chemical elements that were used in building it up1 and if the seeds all fell straight down there1 they could not reach their full development2 so they have all these devices for travelling far away1 where in supplying the needs of the barren places1 their own are met ,it was even so with ,jesus1 ,god's ,corn of ,wheat3 did ,he not need this needy world to bring out ,his love and power8 are not our empty hearts now the riches of ,his inheritance8 ,and the ,christ-life in us1 developed and set free1 will go by its very nature reaching out and spending itself wherever there is want1 in love and longing for the bare places and the far-off4 ,the ,spirit will carry our hearts and sympathies and prayers away and beyond the tiny circle around us1 of our personal interests and our own work1 into fellowship with the ,father about the world ,he loves--fellowship with the ,son over the ,church for which ,he gave ,himself3 not seeking our own profit1 but the profit of many1 that they may be saved4 ,perhaps ,he will carry us away our very selves1 to some waste corner6 ,he that soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly2 and he that soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully4 ,let each man do according as he had purposed in his heart2 not grudgingly1 or of necessity1 for ,god loveth a cheerful giver4 ,and ,god is able to make all grace abound unto you2 that ye1 having always all sufficiency in everything1 may abound unto every good work3 as it is written1 ,he hath scattered abroad1 ,he hath given to the poor2 ,his righteousness abideth for ever4 ,and ,he that supplieth seed to the sower and bread for food1 shall supply and multiply your seed for sowing1 and increase the fruits of your righteousness3 ye being enriched in everything unto all liberality1 which worketh through us thanksgiving to ,god 7,r4,v474 ,and as part of the enriching in everything unto all liberality1 ,god can give us all the ingenuity of love in scattering broadcast ,spirit-filled1 ,spirit-sent seed that ,he has figured in the seed-vessels--the heaven-given inspiration as to how to lay out ,his treasures to their uttermost--how to secure to ,him the highest return out of our lives1 as they do4 ,yes1 the return is to ,him1 as again we see in parable with the plants4 ,they show us a love that seeketh not her own3 no one knows whence the seeds come when they reach their journey's end3 no glory can possibly gather round the plants that surrendered their lives to form and shed them4 ,they just give and give1 with no aim but to be bare footstalks when all is done4 ,everything is loosened and spent without a shade of calculation or self-interest4 ,not unto us1 ,o ,lord1 not unto us1 but unto ,thy name give glory1 they are all saying in spirit3 they teach us absolute indifference as to whether our service is appreciated or even recognised1 so long as the work is done and the ,lord is glorified4 ,the plant itself asks for nothing to keep1 nothing to show1 nothing to glory in from its whole life toil4 ,nothing to glory in--,god cannot get ,his whole glory while man gets any4 ,that seems a truism1 but do we realise the fact8 ,herein is ,my ,father glorified1 that ye bear much fruit4 ,if that is our one aim1 as it was in the soul of ,jesus1 it is bound to be realised4 ,let ,him work this in us too--this simple1 absolute1 absorbing passion of ,his years on earth4 ,and then we shall have1 as ,he had1 that independence of visible results that we have just seen in the plants4 ,he left the world--this one world out of ,his mighty universe in which ,god had come to dwell--with no more to be seen from ,his travail than a few hundred brethren1 every one of whom had forsaken ,him only six weeks before1 and of whom but a hundred and twenty had enough purpose of heart to follow on to ,pentecost4 ,and still ,he could say1 ,yet surely ,my judgment is with the ,lord1 and ,my work with ,my ,god4 ,and though ,israel was not gathered1 ,he was glorious in the eyes of the ,lord and made ,his salvation to the ends of the earth4 ,for it was life that had been sown4 ,so no matter1 if we never see the full up-springing on earth of the ,spirit-seed scattered4 ,it is all the more likely that ,god may trust us with a great multiplying if our faith does not need to witness it4 ,he can grant us spiritual harvests out of sight1 of which ,he only gains the glory4 ,in the things which ,christ hath 444 wrought by us 444 by the power of the ,spirit of ,god there is a multiplying energy that can reach1 not single souls only1 but other souls through them3 a ,holy ,ghost touch that can fire trains1 so to speak1 far reaching beyond the sphere of what we see or know4 ,such is the power of multiplication in the earthly seeds that it needs a constant battle1 and the survival of the fittest1 to keep us from being overrun with one and another4 ,the henbane1 for instance 7by no means the most prolific7 would1 they say1 if every seed had its way every year for five years1 produce from a single plant ten thousand billions--enough to cover the whole area of the dry land of the world1 allowing seventy-three plants to the square metre4footnote993 ,natural ,history of ,plants--,kerner and ,oliver ,perhaps ,god permits the seeming waste of such an overwhelming proportion of the seed formed1 to show us the ,fountain of ,life that there is in ,him2 and to teach us that there is no straitening in the ,spirit of the ,lord4 ,there is no limit 7as someone has said7 to what ,god can do with a man1 provided he will not touch the glory4 ,and ,god's possibilities for these germs of ,spirit-life are not bound by time4 ,jesus is drawing so near that already our thoughts and hopes begin to step over the shrinking foreground of the present age1 and to rest in the ever-opening horizon beyond4 ,who can tell what harvest after harvest may be waiting in the eternal years1 after the summer of earth has faded into the far past8 ,yes1 we have to do with ,one ,who inhabiteth eternity and works in its infinite leisure4 ,some years ago1 when a new railway cutting was made in ,east ,norfolk1 you could trace it through the next summer1 winding like a blood-red river through the green fields4 ,poppy seeds that must have lain buried for generations had suddenly been upturned and had germinated by the thousand4 ,the same thing happened a while back in the ,canadian woods4 ,a fir-forest was cut down1 and the next spring the ground was covered with seedling oaks1 though not an oak-tree was in sight4 ,unnumbered years before there must have been a struggle between the two trees1 in which the firs gained the day1 but the acorns had kept safe their latent spark of life underground1 and it broke out at the first chance4 ,and if we refuse to stay our faith upon results that we can see and measure1 and fasten it on ,god1 ,he may be able to keep wonderful surprises wrapt away in what looks now only waste and loss4 ,what an up-springing there will be when heavenly light and air come to the world at last1 in the setting up of ,christ's kingdom6 ,the waste places may see a nation born in a day4 ,all that matters is that our part should be done4 ,we are responsible for sowing to the ,spirit--responsible1 with an awful responsibility1 that power should be set free in our lives1 power that shall prevail with ,god and with men--responsible like the seed-vessel1 for fulfilling our ministry to the last and uttermost4 ,let the cry be on our hearts1 as it was on the heart of ,jesus1 to finish the work that the ,father has given us4 ,my meat is to do the will of ,him that sent ,me1 and to finish ,his work4 ,on ,he went with it1 though it cost ,him the strong crying and tears of ,gethsemane to fight through to the end--to live on to the ,it is finished of ,calvary4 ,is it our souls' hunger and thirst that1 before ,he comes1 we may have given every message ,he had for us to deliver--prevailed in every intercession to which ,he summoned us--distributed for ,his kingdom and the necessity of saints every shilling ,he wanted--shared with ,him every call to the fellowship of ,his sufferings for others--pouted out ,his love and sympathy and help as ,he poured them out on earth8 ,are we longing that ,he should find when ,he comes no unspent treasure1 no talent laid up in a napkin1 like the unshed seed in its shelly fold8 ,are we acting as if it were our longing8 ,by ,him actions 7not longings7 are weighed6 ,take one more look at our meadow4 ,the summer days are cooling down1 and the storms have begun to come4 ,the ground is bare and blackened1 the stalks and leaves are battered to shreds3 but seeds are everywhere4 ,the earth is strewn with the husks4 ,whence they come none can tell1 and they are broken down into nothingness4 ,all is death--death reigning4 ,the first showers are only bringing in a fresh stage of it where all seemed dead before1 beating them1 bleached and weather-worn and split1 into the softened mould4 ,everything is quiet1 for the seeds have gone down into the resting stage through which they all have to pass1 whether it is during the frost in ,england1 or the burning ,african summer4 ,do we not know the counterpart in the inner world1 when ,spirit-seed has been shed1 and a strange waiting-time comes in which nothing happens--a silence on ,god's part in which death has to be allowed to reign before it is swallowed up in victory8 ,but all is on the very verge of a flood-tide of life1 for the seed-vessel has reached its highest ministry now4 ,the last wrappings are torn1 and from every rent and breach the bare grain is shed forth and brought into direct contact with the soil3 and suddenly1 as if by miracle1 the quickening comes1 and the emerald shoot is to be seen4 ,can we read our last lesson8 ,here1 in service1 we see the same goal being reached as in the soul's inner history4 ,both end in absolute simplicity1 in ,christ alone4 ,for the highest aim of ministry is to bring ,his immediate presence into contact with others--so to bring ,him and them face to face that ,he can act on them directly1 while we stand aside1 like ,john the ,baptist1 rejoicing greatly4 ,we used to look at our inner life as separate from our service3 but as we go on they merge into one--,christ--the same ,christ2 whether folded to our hearts in ,his secret temple1 like the seed in its husk1 or set free in contact with those around to carry on ,his quickening work--all and only ,christ4 ,christ the beginning1 and the end is ,christ4 ,we saw how the soul's first step is to let ,him in as its life3 the last step in a sense can go no further4 ,it is only that the apprehension of ,him has increased1 and the hindrances and limitings have been swept away4 ,christ--,christ--,christ--filling all the horizon4 ,everything in us3 everything to us3 everything through us4 ,to live is ,christ4--,amen4