Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Lessons From a Four-leaf Clover




While on a walk this past Sabbath, a couple people in our group found four-leaf clovers. This made me wonder what lesson I could draw from this supposedly rare finding.

This is what one site had to say about four-leaf clovers: “Four-leaf clovers are very rare. It is estimated that for every one "lucky" four-leaf clover, there are 10,000 regular clovers. In order to find one, you have to be very patient or very lucky.” Funny, those in our group found them after just a couple minutes and weren’t even looking for four-leaf clovers…

According to legend, each leaf represents something: the first is for faith, the second is for hope, the third is for love, and the fourth is for luck.”
 Faith
The faith in Christ which saves the soul is not what it is represented to be by many. "Believe, believe," is their cry; "only believe in Christ, and you will be saved. It is all you have to do." While true faith trusts wholly in Christ for salvation, it will lead to perfect conformity to the law of God. Faith is manifested by works. And the apostle John declares, "He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar" (RH Oct. 5, 1886).  {6BC 1073.2} 
 Hope
Christ is our only hope. We may look to Him, for He is our Saviour. We may take Him at His word, and make Him our dependence. He knows just the help we need, and we can safely put our trust in Him. If we depend on merely human wisdom to guide us, we shall find ourselves on the losing side. But we may come direct to the Lord Jesus, for He has said: "Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls." {TM 486.3} 
 Love
"God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." What an incomparable love is this! A theme for the most profound meditation! The amazing love of God for a world that did not love Him! The thought has a subduing power upon the soul and brings the mind into captivity to the will of God. Men who are crazy for gain, and are disappointed and unhappy in their pursuit of the world, need the knowledge of this truth to quiet the restless hungering and thirsting of their souls.  {4T 80.2} 
 Luck
Definition: good or bad fortune in life caused by accident or chance

As Christians, we don’t believe in luck. With God, everything happens for a reason. Every good fortune we choose to count as a blessing. Every trial is for our character development.

“No action can touch us except with the Father’s knowledge and by His permission… by the time it reaches us it has become God’s will for us, and must be accepted as directly from His hands.”

So… perhaps the three-leaf variety of clover that God originally created should be the more sought after form rather than the four-leaf genetically modified version. I would just as soon leave off the fourth leaf and focus on the faith, hope, and love we find in Christ.

1 comment:

  1. Wisdom in a weed.. Blessings my young friend..and a big hug

    ReplyDelete