Jesus ofttimes taught the people by parable, and on one occasion we are told that "without a parable spake he not unto them." This shows the importance which he attached to this method of teaching, and we surely cannot do better than to follow in his steps. In these days it is possible to extend this method of teaching on a much wider basis, because photographic illustrations have familiarized the people with the wonders of the natural world, thus giving an endless supply of subjects which were little realized by our ancestors.
Jesus made frequent use of plant life to illustrate the point he would make clear to the disciples or to the people gathered about him. Thus he spoke of the vine and its branches, the mustard seed, the fig tree, and the grain of wheat. On one occasion Jesus said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit." This points to the fact that the material sense must yield to its own law of decay in order that the spiritual idea may appear to human consciousness.
Mrs. Eddy writes, "In mortal and material man, goodness seems in embryo" (Miscellaneous Writings, p. 15). One of the meanings of the word embryo is, "the beginning, or first state of anything, while yet in a rudimentary or undeveloped condition." This may well be illustrated by the study of an acorn. When we take off the outer or hard covering we find that the acorn is easily split in two, like a bean or a pea. Between the two lobes, at one end, is a small projection about the size of an ordinary pin-head. This is called the embryo. It is the undeveloped plant, the vital part, which under favorable conditions will sprout and grow into an oak tree. All the matter of which the two lobes are composed is simply a store of food on which the embryo is to feed.
