MEN are prone to make much of brilliant gifts and magnificent carriage, but God, who sees not as we do, looks upon the heart. With Him it is beauty of character and lowly subjection to His will that count far more than outward show. He chose David, not only because of what He knew him to be in his youth, but because of what He was going to make of him in years to come. We say, “The child is father of the man,” and we mean that early years give promise of future behavior. It is a remarkable fact that most men whom God has used in an outstanding manner learned to know Him in their youth, and walked with Him through the years that followed.
“Serve the Lord in the days of youth,
Learn His law and accept His truth:
Sing His praise with a ready tongue,
While the heart is young,
While yet the heart is young.
Serve Him then, ev’ry youthful day,
Choose His guidance without delay:
Waste no part of these precious years.
Youth soon disappears.
Too soon it disappears.”
—Edith Sanford Tillotson.