| The Best Things in Life |
Chapter 6 |
Page 3 |
A legend tells of the origin of the lovely moss rose. Once on a time, an angel came down to earth – the angel of flowers. Busied all day in his ministry here and there, he became weary and sought a place to rest, finding it under a rose. There he slept, and was refreshed. Before returning to heaven he spoke to the rose, grateful for the shelter he had enjoyed, and offered to bestow upon it some new gift of loveliness. So soft green moss grew round the stem, making the beautiful moss rose, the loveliest of all the flowers. The life that gives the most gracious hospitality to Christ receives new charms, new gifts of loveliness.
It is said also of Persis that she “laboured much in the Lord.” She was not a beautiful saint merely, living in holy seclusion, cherishing devout feeling and cultivating lovely qualities of character; she was a saint who sought to do all she could in advancing the cause of Christ. She laboured, “laboured much.” That is, she was not content to do little easy things for her Master, but was eager to do all she could do.
It is said further that she laboured “in the Lord.” Does this mean that she laboured as in the atmosphere of Christ’s life? St. Paul, in speaking of God, said, “In him we live, and move, and have our being.” God is about us as the air is, and we live in him as we live in the atmosphere that surrounds us. It is said that one of the finest orchids in the world is found in England, but, owing to the inclement climate, it grows in dwarfed form, destitute of beauty, and is of no value. Climate is everything for fine plants. Spiritual climate is everything in the growth of heavenly graces. It is a great thing to live and work with the very atmosphere of Christ’s love about us, with the very life of Christ for climate.
Page 3