LET us hastily glance at two or three natural objects in which we see some instructive resemblance to the various degrees of connection with Jesus. There is the ivy, clinging to the oak, and unable to dispense with its support. But this is not like the union of the saint to Christ. The ivy is no part of the oak; it has its own root, its own sap and fruits, its own life. But there are many souls whose attachment to Christ is like that of the ivy. Then there is the mistletoe, which adheres still more closely to the tree. It inserts its tiny roots into the bark of the tree, and feeds upon its juices. But still it has a separate life from that of the tree, with its own roots and juices. And Jesus has some attached to Him who are merely mistletoes. But there is a third kind of attachment, the branch which grows out of the tree, and which forms a part of itself. It has no roots, no fruits, no juices, no life of its own, apart from the tree. It lives on the life of the tree; its juices are the vital sap of the tree, produced by the tree, through the branch. For tree and branch are one. Now, it is this simile which our Lord chooses to shadow forth to us (oh, how feebly!) the infinitely closer union between Himself and His members (John xv., 1-8). Thrice blessed are they who are living Branches in the Living Vine; but alas for those who are merely clinging ivy or parasitical mistletoe.—Extract from a letter by the late Mr J. Dickie, Irvine.