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Story. A Seed, the Earth, a Tree, the Sunlight, the Songbirds, and Man
Story. A Seed, the Earth, a Tree, the Sunlight, the Songbirds, and Man
A small seed fell to the earth. After a great rain blew by, the seed grew a tender sprout and its roots delved slowly into the soil below. The sprout grew tall in time, braving winds cruel and rain deep, seeing the changing of the seasons as the moon waxed and waned. In the summer, the earth brought forth gifts of water so that the sprout could endure the scorching heat. And because of the earth, the sprout did not feel the heat and thus it survived the heat of summer. When winter fell, the earth enveloped the sprout in its warm embrace and they clutched one another tightly. And because of the warmth of the earth, the sprout survived the bitter cold, passing unharmed through the wintry gales and snowfall of the season. Sheltered by the earth, the sprout grew brave and was happy. It grew tall and proud from the selfless nurturing the earth provided. The sprout grew happily. It sang as the rain splashed down and it danced and swayed as the wind blew. And thus, the sprout and the earth depend on one another …
Years passed, and the sprout was now a towering tree. It had grown stout branches tipped with countless leaves and stood strong upon the earth. The tree’s roots dug into the earth as they had before, but they now plunged deep into the soil below. What had once protected the sprout was now the foundation for the mighty tree.
A ray of sunlight shone down on the tree and the trunk shook. The tree reached out its branches wide and drew deeply from the light. The earth below breathed in rhythm with the tree, and the earth felt renewed, and just then, a fresh breeze blew among the branches, and the tree trembled in delight, bursting with energy. And thus, the tree and the sunlight depend on one another …
People sat in the cool shade of the tree and they basked in the brisk, fragrant air. The air cleansed their hearts and lungs, and it cleansed the blood within. The people no longer felt weary or burdened. And thus, the people and the tree depend on one another …
A flock of songbirds chirped as they alighted on the branches of the tree. Perhaps they were evading some foe, or they were breeding and raising their young, or maybe they were just taking a short rest. And thus, the birds and the tree depend on one another …
The roots of the tree, twisted and tangled, dug deep into the earth. Its trunk sheltered the earth from the wind and rain and it stretched out its great branches and protected the earth below it, and the tree did this because the earth is its mother. They live together, depend on one another, and they shall never dwell apart …
…………
All of the things I just talked about are things you have seen before, like seeds, you know about this, right? A seed growing into a tree might not be a process you see in detail, but you know that it is a fact, right? (Yes.) You know about the earth and the sunlight, right? The image of songbirds perching in a tree is a thing all people have seen, right? (Yes.) And people cooling off in the shade of a tree, you’ve all seen that, right? (We have seen that.) So what feeling do you get when you see all these examples in one image? (Harmony.) Do all the examples that exist in this image come from God? (Yes.) As they come from God, God knows the value and significance of these several examples existing together on the earth. When God created all things, He had a plan for each item, and each thing He created shows His intentions and He imbues life in them. He created the living environment for mankind, which is discussed in the story we just heard. It discussed the interdependence the seed and the earth have; the earth nourishes the seed and the seed is bound to the earth. The relationship between these two was predetermined by God from the very beginning, right? (Yes.) The tree, the sunlight, the songbirds, and man in this image, are they an example of the living environment that God created for mankind? (Yes.) First, can the tree leave the earth? (No.) Can the tree be without sunlight? (No.) Then what was God’s purpose for creating the tree, can we say that it was just for the earth? Can we say that it was just for the songbirds? Can we say that it was just for the people? (No.) What is the relationship between them? The relationship between them is one of interdependence wherein they cannot be separated. The earth, the tree, the sunlight, the songbirds, and the people rely on one another for existence and they nurture one another. The tree protects the earth while the earth nurtures the tree; the sunlight provides for the tree, while the tree creates fresh air from the sunlight and helps soothe the earth from the heat of the sunlight. Who benefits from this in the end? Mankind benefits from this, right? (Yes.) And this is one of the principles behind why God made the living environment for mankind and one of the primary purposes for it. Even though this is a simple picture, we can see God’s wisdom and His intentions. Mankind cannot live without the earth, or without trees, or without the songbirds and sunlight, right? Even though it was a story, it is a microcosm of God’s creation of the universe and His bestowal of the living environment upon man.
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Story. A Seed, the Earth, a Tree, the Sunlight, the Songbirds, and Man
Story. A Seed, the Earth, a Tree, the Sunlight, the Songbirds, and Man
A small seed fell to the earth. After a great rain blew by, the seed grew a tender sprout and its roots delved slowly into the soil below. The sprout grew tall in time, braving winds cruel and rain deep, seeing the changing of the seasons as the moon waxed and waned. In the summer, the earth brought forth gifts of water so that the sprout could endure the scorching heat. And because of the earth, the sprout did not feel the heat and thus it survived the heat of summer. When winter fell, the earth enveloped the sprout in its warm embrace and they clutched one another tightly. And because of the warmth of the earth, the sprout survived the bitter cold, passing unharmed through the wintry gales and snowfall of the season. Sheltered by the earth, the sprout grew brave and was happy. It grew tall and proud from the selfless nurturing the earth provided. The sprout grew happily. It sang as the rain splashed down and it danced and swayed as the wind blew. And thus, the sprout and the earth depend on one another …
Years passed, and the sprout was now a towering tree. It had grown stout branches tipped with countless leaves and stood strong upon the earth. The tree’s roots dug into the earth as they had before, but they now plunged deep into the soil below. What had once protected the sprout was now the foundation for the mighty tree.
A ray of sunlight shone down on the tree and the trunk shook. The tree reached out its branches wide and drew deeply from the light. The earth below breathed in rhythm with the tree, and the earth felt renewed, and just then, a fresh breeze blew among the branches, and the tree trembled in delight, bursting with energy. And thus, the tree and the sunlight depend on one another …
People sat in the cool shade of the tree and they basked in the brisk, fragrant air. The air cleansed their hearts and lungs, and it cleansed the blood within. The people no longer felt weary or burdened. And thus, the people and the tree depend on one another …
A flock of songbirds chirped as they alighted on the branches of the tree. Perhaps they were evading some foe, or they were breeding and raising their young, or maybe they were just taking a short rest. And thus, the birds and the tree depend on one another …
The roots of the tree, twisted and tangled, dug deep into the earth. Its trunk sheltered the earth from the wind and rain and it stretched out its great branches and protected the earth below it, and the tree did this because the earth is its mother. They live together, depend on one another, and they shall never dwell apart …
…………
All of the things I just talked about are things you have seen before, like seeds, you know about this, right? A seed growing into a tree might not be a process you see in detail, but you know that it is a fact, right? (Yes.) You know about the earth and the sunlight, right? The image of songbirds perching in a tree is a thing all people have seen, right? (Yes.) And people cooling off in the shade of a tree, you’ve all seen that, right? (We have seen that.) So what feeling do you get when you see all these examples in one image? (Harmony.) Do all the examples that exist in this image come from God? (Yes.) As they come from God, God knows the value and significance of these several examples existing together on the earth. When God created all things, He had a plan for each item, and each thing He created shows His intentions and He imbues life in them. He created the living environment for mankind, which is discussed in the story we just heard. It discussed the interdependence the seed and the earth have; the earth nourishes the seed and the seed is bound to the earth. The relationship between these two was predetermined by God from the very beginning, right? (Yes.) The tree, the sunlight, the songbirds, and man in this image, are they an example of the living environment that God created for mankind? (Yes.) First, can the tree leave the earth? (No.) Can the tree be without sunlight? (No.) Then what was God’s purpose for creating the tree, can we say that it was just for the earth? Can we say that it was just for the songbirds? Can we say that it was just for the people? (No.) What is the relationship between them? The relationship between them is one of interdependence wherein they cannot be separated. The earth, the tree, the sunlight, the songbirds, and the people rely on one another for existence and they nurture one another. The tree protects the earth while the earth nurtures the tree; the sunlight provides for the tree, while the tree creates fresh air from the sunlight and helps soothe the earth from the heat of the sunlight. Who benefits from this in the end? Mankind benefits from this, right? (Yes.) And this is one of the principles behind why God made the living environment for mankind and one of the primary purposes for it. Even though this is a simple picture, we can see God’s wisdom and His intentions. Mankind cannot live without the earth, or without trees, or without the songbirds and sunlight, right? Even though it was a story, it is a microcosm of God’s creation of the universe and His bestowal of the living environment upon man.
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