Was Isa Das a poorer man on account of what he had given to God? No one would have thought so, who could have seen with what a light step and happy face he returned to his home that evening. The rich flower of joy grows on the prickly shrub of self-denial; the flower blooms even in this world, but the fruit will be gathered in the next. As Isa Das passed along the dusty road which led to his hut, everything on which he looked seemed to add to his joy. There was the golden light of sunset; Isa Das beheld it, and said to himself, “Light is the gift of God.” He passed where the thirsty cattle were drinking at the river, and said to himself, “Water is the gift of God.” Isa Das remembered his own blessings, and said to himself,—“Eyes to see, and ears to hear, and hands to work, and feet to walk,—these also are gifts of God. The great Father in heaven loves to give. He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John iii. 16). God hath called us to be His children; and shall not the children be even as the Father, and also delight in giving? Yea, to give freely and to give joyfully,—this is the right of the children of God.”