How then art thou turned into the degenerate plant.

How then art thou turned into the degenerate plant.

A mysterious action is this of spiritual deterioration. It does not set in with obvious energy all at once, so that in one short week a man ceases to be a healthy and fruit-bearing vine; but little by little he goes down, his tone changes, his prayers are depleted of elements that once made them rich with spiritual significance; a carelessness comes upon all his personal discipline; we say, he is no longer the man he once was; then he falls again, and still further he goes down, until at last we begin to be ashamed of his society, or to say that we never come near him without being chilled: once he was so warm, so cordial, so affectionate, so spiritually-minded, that to touch him was to receive virtue; but now all is changed,--his talk has fallen to a lower level, and there comes now and then a look into his face which means that the better self is being displaced by another identity. “What I say unto one,” said Christ, “I say unto all, Watch.” Let us be careful lest whilst we slumber the enemy take an advantage over us. (J. Parker, D. D.)

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