Sunday schools, in which the Old, Old Story of Jesus and His love is simply, lovingly and attractively set before the boys and girls, not only have many young hearts won to the Saviour in them, but the godly influence of those young folks, who are brought to the Lord themselves in early years, can never be measured or fully known. But we are constantly hearing of parents, brothers, sisters and kinsfolk of those dear children, whose hearts are early won to the Redeemer, through whose childish, yet powerful testimony to the Lord whom they love, is being used to melt prejudice, overcome opposition, and in many cases, to subdue hard hearts to the Word, which has in it the power to save, as no other thing on this earth has.
Mrs. Thomas, was a Christian woman, known to the writer, the mother of two fine young children in our Sunday school, who had come to my class from their very early years. Indeed, I often wondered how it was she was able to send them out on Lord’s Day afternoons so well up to time, always with their Memory Texts nicely memorized, and able to repeat them before all the class.
But Mr. Thomas, their father, was no lover of the Lord Jesus, or of His Gospel, but a careless man, more interested in his dogs and the racecourse than in his “bonnie bairns.” But their mother was simple-minded Christian, and sought t. bring up her little boy and girl in the knowledge of the Saviour, whom she had herself trusted in her school days, and sought to follow all her years, even while having little sympathy from her husband. But her heart laid hold of the promise of God,
On God’s faithfulness to fulfill His promise she counted, first for her children, when their hearts were young and tender and even for the conversion of her husband, for, while he was still indifferent to his own salvation, she often said,
“God will bring him yet, and very likely” in a way, and at a time different from what we may expect.”
And thus it truly happened, in this way. Children’s Services were being held for a week in the hall where Bill and Gerty, the two children, went to Sunday school, and there were several of the elder scholar, brightly converted, and giving true evidence of spiritual life being in them. One marked sign was, that these converted children were in the habit of kneeling down at their bedside at nights, and praying audibly for schoolmates and companions. One night after Gerty had been converted, she prayed audibly and earnestly that God would
“Save father, and make him happy in the Saviour’s love.”
Bill, although only five years old, repeating his evening text to mother, as his usually did, added the words in his little prayer,
“Make my daddy one of Thy dear sheep, quickly.”
Whether the father actually heard that desire of his child, or whether his mother told him of it, I do not know, but next day he remarked, “It is about time I was thinking of this myself, if my child is praying about me.”
Daddy did begin to think about it and more, before many weeks he was brightly converted, and it was a pleasing sight to see him, with his little son seated on his shoulder, hurrying along to the Children’s Service. Verily, that dear child of heaven was the “means,” as we say, of leading his father to first think of the Saviour. And there are many such, for now as ever, the promise is true,
ML 06/27/1943