PROMISE SEEDS—A NEW YEAR’S OBJECT LESSON

Here, boys and girls, are four seeds. They are very different, you see, in size and shape. They cannot talk, and yet to me they seem to speak, and each one of them seems to make a promise. This little black one promises me that it will become a beautiful morning-glory, hung thick with brilliant flowers. This large yellow seed makes the promise of a sturdy green corn stalk, bearing stoutly many well filled ears. This acorn makes promise of a great tree, strong to last for centuries, useful for many services of man. And this round brown seed has in it the promise of fragrance and beautiful color and dainty shape, for it is the seed of a sweet-pea.

You can hear these promises as well as I could, now that I tell you what these seeds are; but, after all, what would become of these four promises, if I should lay these seeds on some shelf? You know, all of you, that the promises would soon be dead promises. The only way to make these seed promises amount to anything is to put the seeds in the ground, where rain can fall upon them, and the sun can shine on them, and the soil can feed them.

At the beginning of this year I am sure that all of you want to make some good promises to the dear Savior who has made so many rich promises to you. But are these promise seeds of yours going to be laid on the shelf? I think you will all want to plant them. You can do it. You must put them in the soil of a faithful character. You must fertilize them with many prayers. You must pour upon them the strong rains of determination, and you must shed upon them the warm sunlight of faith and hope. And if you do these things, then these promise seeds of yours will be sure to grow, and bring forth rich fruit through all the months of this year.