The Watchtower Society and John and Morton Edgar - A2Z.org

Immediately as if nothing had happened. In tbJs respectthe leaves differ markedly from the trunk of a welldevelopedtree. The trunk represents our fortitude, ourfirmness to principles ; the leaves, on the other hand,represent our patience, our yielding to troubles and trialswhere no principle is at stake.Just as in the case of the'well-developed natural tree'the strong trunk, together with the firm hold which theroot has in the ground, prevents the tree from being uprootedby any strong wind or other cause, so the matureman of God, because of his deep faith and strong couragein the Lord (not in himself), is able to stand firm againstthe wind of any false doctrine or anything else intendedby the Adversary to cause him to swerve from his dutyto the Lord. We are told that the servant of theLLLordmust not strive, but we are told also that he must contend%mestly for the faith once for all delivered to thesaints (Jude 3, R.v.). Very different from this is thequality of patience. There are plenty of trials whichcome to us from without which do not affect matters ofprinciple. In such cases we must yield, we must exercisepatience.Remember the example of our Lord Jesus. When thetruth was at stake, when he was tempted to turn asidefrom the will of God, nothing could make him swerve.Knowing that the Lord would help him, he set his facelike a flint ; and he knew that he would not be confounded(Isa. 60 : 7). He had strong fortitude, but at the sametime he had infinite patience. His persecutions andadversities he bore meekly, patiently. When he wasreviled, he reviled not again, and he allowed himself tobe scourged, spat upon and sneered at, without retaliating.(2) The other quality possessed by the leaves is thepower of absorbing Carbonic Acid gas, splitting it up intoCarbon and Oxygen, assimilating the former and returningthe latter to the atmosphere. All the Carbon (Charcoal)