Education
by Ellen G. White
Chapter 11: Lessons of Life
The Great Teacher brought His hearers in contact with
nature, that they might listen to the voice which speaks in all created things;
and as their hearts became tender and their minds receptive, He helped them to
interpret the spiritual teaching of the scenes upon which their eyes rested.
The parables, by means of which He loved to teach lessons of truth, show how
open His spirit was to the influences of nature and how He delighted to gather
the spiritual teaching from the surroundings of daily life. {Ed 102.1}
The birds of the air, the lilies of the field, the sower and
the seed, the shepherd and the sheep—with these Christ illustrated
immortal truth. He drew illustrations also from the events of life, facts of
experience familiar to the hearers—the leaven, the hid treasure, the
pearl, the fishing net, the lost coin, the prodigal son, the houses on the rock
and the sand. In His lessons there was something to interest every mind, to
appeal to every heart. Thus the daily task, instead of being a mere round of
toil, bereft of higher thoughts, was brightened and uplifted by constant
reminders of the spiritual and the unseen. {Ed 102.2}
So we should teach. Let the children learn to see in nature
an expression of the love and the wisdom of God; [103] let
the thought of Him be linked with bird and flower and tree; let all things seen
become to them the interpreters of the unseen, and all the events of life be a
means of divine teaching. {Ed
102.3}
As they learn thus to study the lessons in all created
things, and in all life's experiences, show that the same laws which govern the
things of nature and the events of life are to control us; that they are given
for our good; and that only in obedience to them can we find true happiness and
success. {Ed 103.1}
The Law of Ministry
All things both in heaven and in earth declare that the
great law of life is a law of service. The infinite Father ministers to the
life of every living thing. Christ came to the earth "as He that
serveth." Luke 22:27. The angels are "ministering spirits, sent forth
to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation." Hebrews 1:14. The
same law of service is written upon all things in nature. The birds of the air,
the beasts of the field, the trees of the forest, the leaves, the grass, and
the flowers, the sun in the heavens and the stars of light—all have
their ministry. Lake and ocean, river and water spring—each takes to
give. {Ed 103.2}
As each thing in nature ministers thus to the world's life,
it also secures its own. "Give, and it shall be given unto you" (Luke
6:38), is the lesson written no less surely in nature than in the pages of Holy
Writ. {Ed 103.3}
As the hillsides and the plains open a channel for the mountain
stream to reach the sea, that which they give is repaid a hundredfold. The
stream that goes singing on its way leaves behind its gift of beauty and
fruitfulness. Through the fields, bare and brown under the [104]
summer's heat, a line of verdure marks the river's course; every noble tree,
every bud, every blossom, a witness to the recompense God's grace decrees to
all who become its channels to the world. {Ed 103.4}
Sowing in Faith
Of the almost innumerable lessons taught in the varied
processes of growth, some of the most precious are conveyed in the Saviour's
parable of the growing seed. It has lessons for old and young. {Ed 104.1}
"So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed
into the ground; and should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should
spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. For the earth bringeth forth fruit of
herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the
ear." Mark 4:26-28. {Ed
104.2}
The seed has in itself a germinating principle, a principle
that God Himself has implanted; yet if left to itself the seed would have no
power to spring up. Man has his part to act in promoting the growth of the
grain; but there is a point beyond which he can accomplish nothing. He must
depend upon One who has connected the sowing and the reaping by wonderful links
of His own omnipotent power. {Ed
104.3}
There is life in the seed, there is power in the soil; but
unless infinite power is exercised day and night, the seed will yield no
return. The showers of rain must refresh the thirsty fields; the sun must
impart warmth; electricity must be conveyed to the buried seed. The life which
the Creator has implanted, He alone can call forth. Every seed grows, every
plant develops, by the power of God. {Ed 104.4}
"The seed is the word of God." "As the earth
bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things [105]
that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord God will cause righteousness
and praise to spring forth." Luke 8:11; Isaiah 61:11. As in the natural, so
in the spiritual sowing; the power that alone can produce life is from God. {Ed 104.5}
The work of the sower is a work of faith. The mystery of the
germination and growth of the seed he cannot understand; but he has confidence
in the agencies by which God causes vegetation to flourish. He casts away the
seed, expecting to gather it manyfold in an abundant harvest. So parents and
teachers are to labor, expecting a harvest from the seed they sow. {Ed 105.1}
For a time the good seed may lie unnoticed in the heart,
giving no evidence that it has taken root; but afterward, as the Spirit of God
breathes on the soul, the hidden seed springs up, and at last brings forth
fruit. In our lifework we know not which shall prosper, this or that. This
question it is not for us to settle. "In the morning sow thy seed, and in
the evening withhold not thine hand." Ecclesiastes 11:6. God's great
covenant declares that "while the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest
. . . shall not cease." Genesis 8:22. In the confidence of this
promise the husbandman tills and sows. Not less confidently are we, in the
spiritual sowing, to labor, trusting His assurance: "So shall My word be
that goeth forth out of My mouth: it shall not return unto Me void, but it
shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto
I sent it." "He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed,
shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him."
Isaiah 55:11; Psalm 126:6. {Ed
105.2}
The germination of the seed represents the beginning of
spiritual life, and the development of the plant is a figure of the development
of character. There can be [106] no life without growth. The
plant must either grow or die. As its growth is silent and imperceptible, but
continuous, so is the growth of character. At every stage of development our
life may be perfect; yet if God's purpose for us is fulfilled, there will be
constant advancement. {Ed
105.3}
The plant grows by receiving that which God has provided to
sustain its life. So spiritual growth is attained through co-operation with
divine agencies. As the plant takes root in the soil, so we are to take root in
Christ. As the plant receives the sunshine, the dew, and the rain, so are we to
receive the Holy Spirit. If our hearts are stayed upon Christ, He will come
unto us "as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth."
As the Sun of Righteousness, He will arise upon us "with healing in His
wings." We shall "grow as the lily." We "shall revive as
the corn, and grow as the vine." Hosea 6:3; Malachi 4:2; Hosea 14:5, 7. {Ed 106.1}
The wheat develops, "first the blade, then the ear,
after that the full corn in the ear." Mark 4:28. The object of the
husbandman in the sowing of the seed and the culture of the plant, is the
production of grain—bread for the hungry, and seed for future
harvests. So the divine Husbandman looks for a harvest. He is seeking to
reproduce Himself in the hearts and lives of His followers, that through them
He may be reproduced in other hearts and lives. {Ed 106.2}
The gradual development of the plant from the seed is an
object lesson in child training. There is "first the blade, then the ear,
after that the full corn in the ear." Mark 4:28. He who gave this parable
created the tiny seed, gave it its vital properties, and ordained the laws [107]
that govern its growth. And the truths taught by the parable were made a
reality in His own life. He, the Majesty of heaven, the King of glory, became a
babe in Bethlehem, and for a time represented the helpless infant in its
mother's care. In childhood He spoke and acted as a child, honoring His
parents, and carrying out their wishes in helpful ways. But from the first
dawning of intelligence He was constantly growing in grace and in a knowledge
of truth. {Ed 106.3}
Parents and teachers should aim so to cultivate the
tendencies of the youth that at each stage of life they may represent the
beauty appropriate to that period, unfolding naturally, as do the plants in the
garden. {Ed 107.1}
The little ones should be educated in childlike simplicity.
They should be trained to be content with the small, helpful duties and the
pleasures and experiences natural to their years. Childhood answers to the
blade in the parable, and the blade has a beauty peculiarly its own. Children
should not be forced into a precocious maturity, but as long as possible should
retain the freshness and grace of their early years. The more quiet and simple
the life of the child—the more free from artificial excitement and
the more in harmony with nature—the more favorable it is to physical
and mental vigor and to spiritual strength. {Ed 107.2}
In the Saviour's miracle of feeding the five thousand is
illustrated the working of God's power in the production of the harvest. Jesus
draws aside the veil from the world of nature and reveals the creative energy
that is constantly exercised for our good. In multiplying the seed cast into
the ground, He who multiplied the loaves is [108]
working a miracle every day. It is by miracle that He constantly feeds millions
from earth's harvest fields. Men are called upon to co-operate with Him in the
care of the grain and the preparation of the loaf, and because of this they
lose sight of the divine agency. The working of His power is ascribed to
natural causes or to human instrumentality, and too often His gifts are
perverted to selfish uses and made a curse instead of a blessing. God is
seeking to change all this. He desires that our dull senses shall be quickened
to discern His merciful kindness, that His gifts may be to us the blessing that
He intended. {Ed 107.3}
It is the word of God, the impartation of His life, that
gives life to the seed; and of that life, we, in eating the grain, become
partakers. This, God desires us to discern; He desires that even in receiving
our daily bread we may recognize His agency and may be brought into closer
fellowship with Him. {Ed
108.1}
By the laws of God in nature, effect follows cause with
unvarying certainty. The reaping testifies to the sowing. Here no pretense is
tolerated. Men may deceive their fellow men and may receive praise and
compensation for service which they have not rendered. But in nature there can
be no deception. On the unfaithful husbandman the harvest passes sentence of condemnation.
And in the highest sense this is true also in the spiritual realm. It is in
appearance, not in reality, that evil succeeds. The child who plays truant from
school, the youth who is slothful in his studies, the clerk or apprentice who
fails of serving the interests of his employer, the man in any business or
profession who is untrue to his highest responsibilities, may flatter himself
that, so long as the wrong is concealed, [109] he is
gaining an advantage. But not so; he is cheating himself. The harvest of life
is character, and it is this that determines destiny, both for this life and
for the life to come. {Ed
108.2}
The harvest is a reproduction of the seed sown. Every seed
yields fruit after its kind. So it is with the traits of character we cherish.
Selfishness, self-love, self-esteem, self-indulgence, reproduce themselves, and
the end is wretchedness and ruin. "He that soweth to his flesh shall of
the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit
reap life everlasting." Galatians 6:8. Love, sympathy, and kindness yield
fruitage of blessing, a harvest that is imperishable. {Ed 109.1}
In the harvest the seed is multiplied. A single grain of
wheat, increased by repeated sowings, would cover a whole land with golden
sheaves. So widespread may be the influence of a single life, of even a single
act. {Ed 109.2}
What deeds of love the memory of that alabaster box broken
for Christ's anointing has through the long centuries prompted! What countless
gifts that contribution, by a poor unnamed widow, of "two mites, which
make a farthing" (Mark 12:42), has brought to the Saviour's cause! {Ed 109.3}
Life Through Death
The lesson of seed sowing teaches liberality. "He which
soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully
shall reap also bountifully." 2 Corinthians 9:6. {Ed 109.4}
The Lord says, "Blessed are ye that sow beside all
waters." Isaiah 32:20. To sow beside all waters means to give wherever our
help is needed. This will not tend to [110] poverty.
"He which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully." By casting
it away the sower multiplies his seed. So by imparting we increase our
blessings. God's promise assures a sufficiency, that we may continue to give. {Ed 109.5}
More than this: as we impart the blessings of this life,
gratitude in the recipient prepares the heart to receive spiritual truth, and a
harvest is produced unto life everlasting. {Ed 110.1}
By the casting of grain into the earth, the Saviour
represents His sacrifice for us. "Except a corn of wheat fall into the
ground and die." He says, "it abideth alone: but if it die, it
bringeth forth much fruit." John 12:24. Only through the sacrifice of
Christ, the Seed, could fruit be brought forth for the kingdom of God. In
accordance with the law of the vegetable kingdom, life is the result of His
death. {Ed 110.2}
So with all who bring forth fruit as workers together with
Christ: self-love, self-interest, must perish; the life must be cast into the
furrow of the world's need. But the law of self-sacrifice is the law of
self-preservation. The husbandman preserves his grain by casting it away. So
the life that will be preserved is the life that is freely given in service to
God and man. {Ed 110.3}
The seed dies, to spring forth into new life. In this we are
taught the lesson of the resurrection. Of the human body laid away to molder in
the grave, God has said: "It is sown in corruption; it is raised in
incorruption: it is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness;
it is raised in power." 1 Corinthians 15:42, 43. [111] {Ed 110.4}
As parents and teachers try to teach these lessons, the work
should be made practical. Let the children themselves prepare the soil and sow
the seed. As they work, the parent or teacher can explain the garden of the
heart, with the good or bad seed sown there, and that as the garden must be
prepared for the natural seed, so the heart must be prepared for the seed of
truth. As the seed is cast into the ground, they can teach the lesson of Christ's
death; and as the blade springs up, the truth of the resurrection. As the plant
grows, the correspondence between the natural and the spiritual sowing may be
continued. {Ed 111.1}
The youth should be instructed in a similar way. From the
tilling of the soil, lessons may constantly be learned. No one settles upon a
raw piece of land with the expectation that it will at once yield a harvest.
Diligent, persevering labor must be put forth in the preparation of the soil,
the sowing of the seed, and the culture of the crop. So it must be in the
spiritual sowing. The garden of the heart must be cultivated. The soil must be
broken up by repentance. The evil growths that choke the good grain must be
uprooted. As soil once overgrown with thorns can be reclaimed only by diligent
labor, so the evil tendencies of the heart can be overcome only by earnest
effort in the name and strength of Christ. {Ed 111.2}
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In the cultivation of the soil the thoughtful worker will
find that treasures little dreamed of are opening up before him. No one can
succeed in agriculture or gardening without attention to the laws involved. The
special needs of every variety of plant must be studied. Different varieties
require different soil and cultivation, and [112]
compliance with the laws governing each is the condition of success. The
attention required in transplanting, that not even a root fiber shall be
crowded or misplaced, the care of the young plants, the pruning and watering,
the shielding from frost at night and sun by day, keeping out weeds, disease,
and insect pests, the training and arranging, not only teach important lessons
concerning the development of character, but the work itself is a means of
development. In cultivating carefulness, patience, attention to detail, obedience
to law, it imparts a most essential training. The constant contact with the
mystery of life and the loveliness of nature, as well as the tenderness called
forth in ministering to these beautiful objects of God's creation, tends to
quicken the mind and refine and elevate the character; and the lessons taught
prepare the worker to deal more successfully with other minds. {Ed 111.3}
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"Other Object Lessons"
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