And today I'm struck by the influence of nature upon Jesus:
"He causes his sun to rise...and sends rain."
"Look at the birds of the air."
"See how the flowers of the field grow."
"Every good tree bears good fruit."
"The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew."
"Foxes have dens and birds have nests."
"The harvest is plentiful."
"I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves."
"What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swayed by the wind?"
"You brood of vipers!"
"As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown."
"When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared."
"Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches."
"A net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish."
“When evening comes, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’"
"The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going."
"Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest."
“I am the vine; you are the branches."
