Isaiah 28:24

The plowing and harrowing are painful processes. And surely the Divine Plowman is at work in the world as never before. He plows by His Spirit, by His Word, and by His providences. Though painful be the processes of cultivation, they are essential.

Could the earth speak, it would say, “I felt the hard plow today; I knew what was coming; when the plow-point first struck me, I was full of pain and distress and I could have cried out for very agony, for the point was sharp and driven through me with great energy; but now, I think, this means the blade, the ear, the full corn in the ear, the golden harvest and harvest-home.”

One day in early summer I walked past a lovely meadow . The grass was as soft, thick, and beautiful as an immense green Oriental rug. At one end of the meadow stood a fine old tree that served as a sanctuary for countless wild birds, whose happy songs seemed to fill the crisp, sweet air. I saw two cows who lay in the shade as the very picture of contentment. And down by the road, eye-catching dandelions mingled their gold with the royal purple of the wild violets. I leaned against the fence for a long time, feasting my hungry eyes and thinking in my soul that God never made a more beautiful place than this lovely meadow .

The next day I passed that way again, and to my great dismay , the hand of the destroyer had been there . A farmer with a large tractor , which was now sitting idle in the meadow , had in one day inflicted terrible devastation. Instead of seeing the soft, green grass, I now saw the ugly, bare, and brown earth. Gone were the dandelions and the pretty violets. And instead of the multitude of singing birds, there were now only a few, who were industriously scratching the ground for worms. In my grief I said, “How could anyone spoil something so beautiful?”

Is not the plowing merely a preparation for the seed-sowing to follow and after that, for the wheat which is to feed many?

When the plowshare goes through human hearts, surely it is for something! Someday we shall see when the ripe ears of corn appear that the plowshare had to come for a season.