Sarah and Her Lesson.
Sarah lived in a little village surrounded by woods. She hadn’t many friends to play with, but this didn’t worry her, as she loved to wander into the woods beside her home. In the spring and summer days she used to gather posies of flowers for her mother and her neighbours. She would have such fun deciding which colours of flowers and which kinds of grasses to blend together.
How happy she was among the trees and flowers, but gradually it became more and more difficult to find flowers to make really colourful posies. Sadly, she asked her mother, “Mummy, why does God allow so many flowers to wither, and fade, and die?” Her mummy looked at her, and quietly said, “Sarah, come with me, and we will take a walk into the woods.” So, Sarah and mummy got well wrapped up with coats and hoods, for the days were getting colder, and off they went into the woods.
As they walked along, mummy began to point out things that Sarah had never noticed before – on the wild rose bushes, where there had been such lovely flowers, there were now shiny red bulbs and on other little plants, little black, or green, seeds; even the ferns and grasses had little seeds, too. Then mummy explained that soon these little seeds would fall off and bury themselves in the ground, where they would lie until spring-time had come.
Once spring would come, then Sarah would be able to see little plants sprouting up through the ground where the seeds had fallen. “Even from one seed, Sarah,” said mummy, “you will be able to gather many flowers.” Sarah wasn’t sad any more, and she looked forward to the spring-time. “How loving and wise God is with the world He has made,” she said to her mother. “Yes,” replied her mummy, “but, you see, Sarah, what I have told you today about the seeds falling into the ground and dying, must remind us of what Jesus meant when He said, ‘Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.’ He was speaking about His own death, of course. He would die, and how sad that seems; but, the Bible says, because He died and rose again, then all those who believe in Him as their own Saviour will live for evermore with Him in heaven.”