By Xiaogao, China
In my memory, my father was hardworking and kind-hearted, and my mother was a thrifty housewife. As their sons and daughters, we were all obedient to them, which gave them much peace of mind. In order to provide five of us siblings with a good life, they farmed 15 mu of orchard on the hillsides and 20 mu of fields. At every harvest season, seeing the golden fruit, my parents felt extremely delighted inside. However, the little grass annoyed and tired them most.
Whenever spring thunder rang out and all things were stretching, the little grass, just like the spring messenger, had already broken through the soil and poked its pointed head up. As the spring breeze blew, the hillsides and fields put on a green dress. To gain a good harvest, my parents began to spray weed killers and then did hoeing from before dawn till after dark. They did their best to remove the grass but got few results. In just a few weeks, the little grass went back to the way it used to be and overran the hillsides and fields again.
In early summer, the orchard was luxuriant, and the crops grew higher as well. My parents would uproot the grass in the cropland, and our flock would be driven into the orchard to eat the grass. As the wild geese flew south, the leaves withered and the fruits were all stored, my mother would reap the weeds on the edge of the orchard and lay them in store for the sheep to get through the winter. And my father would strike a match and burn the wilted little grass left in the fields. In an instant there was only ash left. At that moment, I, full of childishness, thought to myself: Well done! All the grass has been burned to death, and in the future my parents will not be annoyed and tired because of it. Yet when spring came after winter, the little grass still covered the hillsides and fields and there was no decrease in its amount at all.
I still remember that one summer, twenty days of successive rainfall caused floods everywhere. The flood rose to the foot of the small hillsides and the fields were submerged for a whole month. When the flood subsided, all the crops died while the little grass still bestrewed the fields. What’s more, it thrived without the cover of the crops. I often brought the flock to the hillsides, lay down on the grass and thought deeply the wondrousness of the little grass: Not only does no one fertilize or water it, but there’s also no one that cares for or cherishes it; in addition, it’s often swallowed and trampled by cattle and sheep and other animals, and every farmer wants to uproot it. However, no matter how it is left out and ravaged, nothing could stop its existence. As long as it gets a handful of moist soil and a sunbeam, it could always be found growing strong and tall.
At that moment, I felt deeply bewildered and confused: The little grass is born humble and ordinary all its life; it doesn’t have the same fragrance as a flower or the same height as a tree and nobody cares about it. But why is its life force so tenacious?
How time flies! Forty years had passed in the blink of an eye. One day I finally found the answer to my question in a book. It says, “The source of life comes from God, for all creation, whatever the difference in form or structure. Whatever kind of living being you are, you cannot move counter to the path of life that God has set” (“God Is the Source of Man’s Life”). “No matter what type of plant it is or how long its lifespan is, generally speaking, God manages its balance based on how long it lives, its ability to reproduce, its speed of reproduction as well as its amount and rate of reproduction. This allows them, from the grass to the trees, to be able to continue to thrive, to grow within a balanced ecological environment. So when you look at a forest on earth, no matter if it is trees or grass, it is continuously reproducing and growing according to its own laws. It doesn’t need mankind’s help; it doesn’t need any additional work from mankind” (“God Himself, the Unique IX”).
These words resolved the riddle buried in my heart for many years. It turned out that the life of all things originates from God. From things as great as the heavens and the planets in the universe to those as small as mountains and rivers, lakes, flowers, birds, fish and insects and even the grass, all of these are created by God and under God’s sovereignty and command, and they multiply according to the laws God determined. In summer, the little grass never cowers and hangs back when it suffers from the hot sun or experiences the baptism of violent storms; its will to live is not defeated even if it is trampled by cattle and sheep and other animals at will; the nippy wind unexpectedly makes it early usher in the feeling of spring. Precisely because of God’s authority and because God has established its life law, the little grass can live so tenaciously. Therefore, throughout the centuries, when spring comes after winter and the fields alternate between green and yellow, the little grass still lives on the land and spreads throughout the earth, which is the life law no one can change.
I also read these in the book, “God created all things and used His own methods to set the laws of growth for all things, as well as their growth trajectory and patterns, and also set the ways all things exist on this earth, so that they may live continuously and depend on each other. With such methods and laws, all things are able to successfully and peacefully exist and grow on this land. Only by having such an environment is man able to have a stable home and living environment, and under God’s guidance, continue to develop and move forward, develop and move forward” (“God Himself, the Unique VIII”). “Only because they have this kind of balance are they able to maintain their own environment for survival. Only because they have a suitable environment for survival can these forests, these grasslands continue to survive on earth. Their existence nurtures generation after generation of people as well as generation after generation of all sorts of living things with habitats in the forests and the grasslands—birds and beasts, insects, and all kinds of microorganisms” (“God Himself, the Unique IX”).
Through these words I saw God’s love for us. God created all things and established the laws in order for us humans to live better. Because of the existence of the little grass, because it takes root in the earth, prevents soil erosion and adorns the earth, we can have a beautiful homeland; due to the existence of the little grass, all kinds of animals have food so that they can live and multiply; due to the existence of the little grass, all sorts of insects have their own habitats and keep away from people, so that we have a suitable survival environment…. It can be seen that all things live within the ordination of God and multiply according to the laws He has established, and only in this way can the ecological balance be kept and our survival environment be protected. So, God created all things and established the laws for their existence and propagation; behind that is God’s selfless love for us. It is because of the life laws God determined for all things and because God has been supplying us continuously that we are able to live safely and soundly for generation after generation.
After living a wandering life for several decades, I returned to my hometown, only to find high buildings and asphalt roads on the previous farmland and hillsides. Although mankind can destroy the things God created, no one can destroy their life laws determined by God. When spring comes after winter, the little grass still comes out of the soil. This is just as the poem says, “Wildfire does not burn it completely; when spring winds blow, it lives again.” The little grass is witnessing to mankind about the Creator’s authority and power with its own tenacious life force. All of this is because of God’s wonderful deeds and also the manifestation of God’s almightiness and wisdom.
I could not help but ask myself: As we enjoy all of this God gives us, what have we done for God? Now I’ve had a little knowledge of God’s authority and power and gained some understanding of God’s intentions in creating all things. I will cherish everything God created and the good opportunity God bestows. I will properly pursue the truth and seek to know God to comfort His heart.
