d to the Father's will, that He should
lead them whither He would--to a cross, if needs were; to persecution
and shame, if this would better serve His purpose; to a Gethsemane, if
that were the only gate to life.

Yield thyself to those loving hands. They may lead thee afar from thy
original purpose--twisting thee in and out with many a contortion;
fixing thee with nail and fastening; trailing thee over the wall, to
droop thy clusters to the hands of strangers. Nevertheless, be sure to
let Him have His way with thee; this is necessary for the
accomplishment of His purpose.

_The suffering of the vine._--When, in the spring, "the grace of the
green vine makes all the land lovely, and the shoots begin to wind and
wave in the blue air," the husbandman comes in with pruning-hook and
shears, and strips it bare of all its innocent pride. Nor is this all.
Even in the vintage it is not allowed to glory in the results of the
year, "the branches are torn down and trodden in the wine-press, while
the vine stands stripped and desolate."

So it has always been. The well-being of the world has been greatly
promoted through the Church, but always at an infinite cost to herself.
Christ's people have always been a suffering people, and it is in exact
proportion to their anguish that they have enriched mankind. They have
saved others, but not themselves. The red stream of blood that has
vitalized the world, has flowed from broken hearts.

"Measure thy life by loss instead of gain,
Not by the wine drunk, but by the wine poured forth;
For Love's strength standeth in Love's sacrifice,
And whoso suffers most hath most to give."

_The interdependence of vine and branches._--In God from eternity dwelt
a wealth of love, pity, and yearning over the souls of men, that could
not express themselves directly. There was no language for the
infinite passion of the Divine heart. Hence the gift of the Son,
through whom, when He had become flesh, the Infinite might express
Himself. But even this was not sufficient. The vine-root is not
enough in itself, it must have branches to carry its rich juices to the
clusters, so that these may hang free of each other in the sun and air.
Christ must have branches--long lines of saved souls extending down the
centuries--through which to communicate Himself to men.

We have seen how necessary the root is to the branches. Only from it
can our fruit be found. But let us humbly, yet gladly,