By Haoyue, Italy
From ancient times to the present day, innumerable writers and poets have praised the good qualities of the grass. For instance, poet Bai Juyi said in his poem Grasses, “Wild fire can’t burn them up; again they rise when vernal breezes blow.” And poet Yang Ji in Ming Dynasty also said in Spring Grasses, “With spring coming, the lush green grass covers here and there; its scent softly wafts through the air, the further the stronger.” These lines all described the grass’s soft beauty and tenacious vitality.
My house has a big balcony. Every morning, I go there for fresh air and to do exercise. This morning, the sun was bright and clear, and the air fresh. After getting washed, I went to the balcony as usual. I stretched, moved my neck, and took a deep breath of fresh air. I felt so refreshed!
Unexpectedly, when I looked down I noticed something green in a small corner of the balcony. Out of curiosity, I walked closer and bent to observe it carefully. I found it was a blade of grass having poked its green head up, and the young leaves were sprinkled with small drops of dew, which were as sparkling and limpid as jewels. It was simply beautiful! I smelled the grass, and the light, fresh fragrance of the young leaves made me feel relaxed.
But looking at my balcony floor, I wondered: It’s covered with cement, and on it is a layer of soft plastic and another one of black waterproof plastic. The crack in the thick plastic is so narrow. Besides, there isn’t enough water for the grass. So how could it grow so tenaciously in the crack? In retrospect, I had seen verdant lawns in the fields and on the hills where there were rich soil and full sunlight; I had also seen grass by the riversides and roadsides where there was enough water to nourish them. However, there’s neither rich soil nor plenty of water on my balcony yet the blade of grass was growing there. I couldn’t help sighing: How tenacious the grass is!
At that time, God’s words came into my mind: “‘And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth: and it was so.’ … As the words of God were spoken, the land became lush and green, all sorts of herbs that could be enjoyed by man sprang forth and broke from the ground, and the mountains and plains became thickly populated by trees and forests…. The fragrance of grass and the aroma of the soil spread through the air, and an array of plants began to breathe in tandem with the circulation of the air, and began the process of growing. At the same time, thanks to the words of God and following the thoughts of God, all the plants began the perpetual life cycles in which they grow, blossom, bear fruit, and multiply. They began to strictly adhere to their respective life courses, and began to perform their respective roles among all things…. They were all born, and lived, because of the words of the Creator. They would receive the unceasing provision and nourishment of the Creator, and would always tenaciously survive in every corner of the land in order to show forth the authority and power of the Creator, and they would always show forth the life force bestowed upon them by the Creator …”
It turned out that the appearance of all things is actually because of the authority of God’s words. God speaks, and it is done; He speaks, and it is accomplished. So an array of plants—fruits, vegetables, flowers, grasses, and trees—all appear thanks to God’s words, and they grow, blossom, and bear fruit over and over again in arrangements masterminded by God. With them, the world also becomes full of vitality and brimming with life. Although the blade of grass on the balcony is unremarkable, it assumes its role ordained by God—decorating the world. Besides, no matter how harsh the circumstances are, the blade of grass could take root, sprout, and grow tenaciously in the crack with its tenacious vitality, this is bestowed by the authority of God, and is also the display of God’s authority. Thinking of this, I couldn’t help praising the wondrousness of God’s creation of all things! Meanwhile, I felt all the more the greatness of God’s authority!
I also recalled the following words of God, “The life of the Creator is extraordinary, His thoughts are extraordinary, and His authority is extraordinary, and so, when His words were uttered, the final result was ‘and it was so.’ …
… All of these changes and occurrences showed forth the Creator’s authority, and the extraordinariness and greatness of the power of the Creator’s life.”
God’s words allowed me to understand: It is because the power of the Creator and the power of His life are extraordinary that all things He created are also possessed of tenacious life force. However, all the things that man makes don’t have life. No matter how many things man can invent using science and technology, they are not worth a mention before the Creator’s power. For example, man can make airplanes, but can’t create a living bird; man can make bicycles, but cannot create a wild horse; man can produce various kinds of plastic flowers and grasses, but cannot create any seed that has life. … Only God’s authority is unique, and His authority is not hollow or vague, but truly and really embodies in all creation. The stars and the universe, the mountains, rivers and lakes, the flowers, grasses and trees, the birds, fishes and insects—all of these things continue to thrive in the thoughts of God. This is precisely an exemplification of the Creator’s extraordinary power and His powerful vitality. At this point, I didn’t have any suitable words to praise God’s supremacy. I simply felt God truly is great!
Today, I really gained a lot. At this moment, when I looked down at the blade of grass again, I felt as if it was greener. And as I moved forward, I surprisingly found another blade …
