They Need the Cold

    Ms. E. J. Whately wrote about the introduction of a certain plant into England years ago. When the plants were brought to the gardener, he took for granted that they required warmth; so he put them in the hothouse. Day by day the plants withered a bit more and more, until the gardener threw them out on a compost pile in the cold. There they began to revive and to grow and to bloom. They needed the cold!

    The great Husbandman often saves his plants by throwing them out into the cold. The nipping frosts of trial and affliction causes the mind to think on the Lord; new thoughts and feelings are revived! The heart becomes dead to the world and looks up to God. From the night of sorrow rises the joy of morning. "Weeping may endure for the night, but joy cometh in the morning." Without the night, the joy would not be so welcomed! From the crucifixion of the old man comes the resurrection of the new man.