The work of the Holy Spirit - pagina 332

;

PREPARATORY GRACE

292 Our person

is like the field wherein the sower is to scatter the Suppose there are two fields in which the seed must be sown; the one has been plowed, fertilized, harrowed, and cleared What is the of stones, while the other lies fallow, uncared for. result? Does the former produce wheat of itself? By no means tho the furrows were never so deep and the ground never so rich and smooth, if it receives no seed-grain it will never yield a single ear. And the other, not cultivated, will surely germinate the seed scattered therein. The origin of the wheat sown has no connection with the cultivation of the field, since the seed-grain is conveyed thither from elsewhere. But to the growth of the wheat, cultivation And so it is in the spiritual kingdom. is of greatest importance. Whether great or small, preparatory grace contributes nothing to the origin of life, which springs from the " incorruptible seed" sown But to its developmeiit it is of greatest importance. in the heart. This is why the Reformed churches so strongly insist upon the

seed.

careful training of our children.

For, altho

we

confess that all our

fire, yet we know when God puts that spark into their hearts, kindling the new much will depend upon the condition in which it finds them.

training can not create the least spark of heavenly that life,

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