Plants can grow in the dark. In my biology class, our first experiment was about the scientific method. Together we designed an experiment with the proper elements such as an hypothesis, materials, a control, steps, and data charts etc. We used light as the variable. All the plants got the same nutrients, water and air; but half of the plants were put in the dark and half of the plants grew under a light that simulated the sun. It was always a surprise to my students to see those plants in the dark grow. They were odd plants. There are plant hormones called auxins in a plant that help it grow upward out of the soil to find light (a process called phototropism). These plants in the dark grew very tall and spindly. They also remained white. Eventually because their stems were so thin, they bowed over with their own weight. They grew leaves but they were small. Leaves are supposed to be broad and flat, uniquely designed to obtain maximum light to carry on the process of photosynthesis whereby plants provide their own nourishment. The plants that grew in the light had nice strong stems and beautiful green leaves. But these plants did not like 24 hours of light, eventually, we realized that plants needed time to process and carry on other vital activities that the plant couldn't do while photosynthesis was going on. At night, plants take the products of photosynthesis, utilize the energy gathered during the day, and expel the waste products. This is called plant respiration.

In Genesis 1, it is interesting to me that on the third day God brought forth plants . Then, on the fourth day the sun and the moon were put in place thereby providing seasons, days and years. Plants are a unique lesson in themselves. Jesus Christ knew this when he said in Matthew 6:28-29

28And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow (auxano- in Greek as it is used in the Bible, it means growth from within without compulsion); they toil not, neither do they spin: 29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

What would it be like growing up in a world without light or in the shadows. What would life be like without the light of God's Word. James 1:17-18 says

17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning (trope in Greek). 18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures

We need the light of God's Word and we need the time to process that light in our own lives so that we grow in the abundance that God truly wants for us. It doesn't mean that there still aren't aphids and blight and frost, but sturdy plants endure and adapt. As we take in the rich nourishment of God's Word and make it our own, we grow from within and blossom as unique individuals in the body of Christ.