“The rain falls on the thirsty earth, so the Word falls on man’s dry and thirsty spirit. Rain falls indifferently on mountain and on valley, but the hard, lofty mountain casts it off, and the valleys receive and profit by it. So the Word of God is for all; but lofty pride casts it off, and lowly penitence takes it in. The rain softens the clods, and this permits the seed to suck its nourishment from the earth, and thus the earth is rendered—what it could not be at all, but for the rain—fertile, and so is covered with every form of vegetable life, grass, herb and tree. So where the Word is received the fruit of love, joy, and peace abounds. Then the harvest provides for a future reproduction as well as for the present nourishment of men. So the Word of God wherever it falls and sinks in, not only produces a corresponding harvest, and there is bread for the hungry, but there is, too, seed for further sowing. No one truly receives the gospel without wanting to propagate it. It must flow on, it cannot stagnate. Finally, the rain is drawn back to the heavens, and so the Word of the Gospel goes back to God, accompanied as it were, by the singing joy of those who have partaken of its blessing.” (F.C. Jennings)
