"and ornamental trees. There should be orchards, and every kind of produce should be cultivated that is adapted to the soil, that this place may become an object lesson to those living close by and afar off. 6T 187.1"
"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."
Both passages touch on the idea of being a positive example to others. Matthew 5:16 encourages believers to let their good works shine as a testimony, while the EGW passage suggests that the cultivated land should serve as an "object lesson." The connection is thematic, focusing on the idea of influencing others through positive actions or examples.
"Then let everything not essential to the work of the school be kept at a distance, that the sacredness of the place may not be disturbed through the proximity of families and buildings. Let the school stand alone. It will be better for private families, however devoted they may be in the service of the Lord, to be located at some distance from the school buildings. The school is the Lord's property, and the grounds about it are His farm, where the Great Sower can make His garden a lessonbook. The results of the labors will be seen, “first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.” Mark 4:28 . The land will yield its treasures, bringing the joyousness of an abundant harvest; and the produce gathered through the blessing of God is to be used as nature's lessonbook, from which spiritual lessons can be made plain and applied to the necessities of the soul. 6T 187.2"
"For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear."
The EGW passage directly quotes Mark 4:28, making it an explicit allusion. The context in EGW uses the agricultural process described in Mark to illustrate spiritual growth and learning.