God does not forget that children are children. All that He does is perfect. And God does not wish that Christian children should act as if they were not what they are—young and, we trust, simple. When we speak of serving the Lord, we do not mean to ask a lad of fifteen to stand up and preach, or a girl of twelve to perform some duty which pertains to grown women; but we mean that kind of service which the Christian child, as a child, and not trying or wishing to be anything but a child, can, and should, render to God.
We do not then look for great things in children's service. But remember, dear boys and girls, that life is chiefly made up of little things. The copious shower is formed of little rain drops, and the mighty mountains of tiny particles; the greatest forces in nature are numberless small things acting together. It is only one person here and there in the world whose name is even so much as known outside a very small circle, and even great men " are not always doing great things; their lives are chiefly made up of little things. Now, in serving the Lord, it is all-important to observe this principle.
Suppose the apostle Paul had served the Lord in the great work of preaching the gospel, yet had not served the Lord in the little things of daily duties, he would not then have been the great apostle he was. If a man who is regarded in a special way as God's servant only serves Him upon special occasions, such a servant is a bad servant. It is not a great thing to eat and drink; everyone does this, yet the Scriptures say, " Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." (1 Cor. 10:3131Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31).) It is not a great thing to earn one's daily bread; there are few only whose lives are not lives of labor, and the Scriptures say that the great apostle labored with his own hands, and not only thereby ministered unto his own necessities, but also to those of others who labored with him in the gospel. (Acts 20:3434Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me. (Acts 20:34).) In our daily duties we should seek to please God,
A child's service to the Lord is naturally to be found. in little things. Now, the Lord does not forget the little things which children do out of love to Him. A mother does not forget the kiss her little ones give her, nor their kind and thoughtful ways; much less does He, who is kinder even than a mother, forget the least thing done in His name. He has told us that a cup of cold water given in His name shall in no wise lose its reward.
In the first part of this chapter we will address ourselves to young children.
WHOM DO YOU SERVE?
Little children, you have each of you a body which has several members-hands, feet, eyes, ears, mouth, and many more besides. Each of these members is a little instrument for good or evil. Suppose I say " Joseph, here is a book, take it." Joseph wishes to obey. He puts forward his hand, closes his fingers round the book, and takes it. His hand serves his will.
A few illustrations will help to explain what I mean. A little boy has a whip, with which he plays at horses; one day another boy says to him, " Lend me your whip," and he uses it to beat a poor dog. Thus as soon as the whip has a bad boy for its master it serves as an instrument for cruelty.
A girl puts out her hand to stop her little sister from falling, then she uses it well; but if she lifts her hand to strike someone, then she uses it badly. If the feet run an errand of obedience, it is well; but if they stamp with impatience, it pleases Satan. You can tell me how your ears serve for good and how for evil. "Yes," you may say, "we use our ears well if we listen to the word of God, and we use them badly when we listen -to naughty tales instead of doing our work."
There is a bad master called " Sin," and when we give up our members to sin-hands, feet, eyes, ears-all are turned to a bad use, like the whip in the hands of the cruel boy.
The Lord Jesus, God's Son, became a little child, and had a body like ours, only without sin; His hands and feet never did evil, His mouth never spoke any wrong words, and
He never lent His ears or eyes to what was wrong, nor had He ever one wrong thought. But those hands, which had touched so many sick people to heal them, and which had been laid upon so many little children to bless them,- were pierced with nails; and the feet of Jesus, which had been ever going errands of love, were fastened to the cross. When the good and kind Jesus was nailed to the dreadful cross, all the sins of His people were laid upon Him by God. It is by the stripes of Jesus, by all that He suffered upon the cross, that we are healed. How loving it was of the Savior to die for us!
Little children, you have obeyed Sin, but Jesus died to put our sins away, and if you believe in Jesus, all the sins that you have done are put away, and God does not look at them any more. And because you are now God's children He bids you not to give up your members as instruments to serve Sin, but to give up yourselves to Him, for He is your God. You are called to serve the Lord in little things, for you are little children. But all your members can be made useful for God. Will you learn this text?" Do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus; "and by doing this your members shall not be instruments to serve Sin, but shall be the servants of righteousness, and you will please God.
C. H.
We can serve by giving. Naturally our hearts are selfish, but if the love of God is active within our hearts, we shall wish to do such things as please Him who gives us all good things.
LUCY AND HER GIFT.
I suppose most little boys and girls find waiting rather difficult and uninteresting; but I am going to tell you what happened to me the other day, when I had to wait in a small parlor for nearly two hours, and did not find it at all dull.
The kind mistress of the house was busy, so she could not come and speak with me, but she sent her little girl Lucy to play about the room and amuse me. Lucy and I began talking, and, after a little while, she showed me one of her great treasures, a tiny, tiny china doll. To explain how small it was, I will tell you that a thimble would have been large enough for its cradle. She also showed me a beautiful large lady doll, dressed in white and one made of india-rubber; and besides these three, Lucy told me she had four more upstairs. What a number of dolls happy little Lucy had. Presently I said-
"Lucy, what do you like best of all?"
Lucy stopped playing, and, coming up to my side, said, with such a bright smile-
"Oh! I love Jesus best of everything, of course."
Ah! this was what made Lucy so happy and joyful. She loved Jesus best of everything. This little girl had all that a kind father and mother could give her; she was full of life, and so merry, and yet there was something better than all this that Lucy cared for. She loved Jesus best, "of course."
Dear children, and especially you who have parents who tell you about the Lord Jesus Christ, can you say you love Jesus best of all? I daresay you know about Him -how He came to die for sinners; you know what a life of self-denial and grace He lived here, and that He, the only begotten Son of God, the Father's well beloved, was put upon the cross. But do you at heart believe it for your own selves? The Lord Jesus looks at our hearts; He wants our first love to be given to Himself.
I will tell you something more about Lucy, which will show you that she not only loved with her heart, but showed by her ways that she was not forgetful of what God wishes His children to do. I was telling her of a little girl I knew, who had not even one doll. Lucy went at once to her mother, and asked if she might give me one, to send to the poor child who had none.
If you love your mother very much, you try to do what she does, and what she wishes you to do. This is what Christian children ought to do. You know the Lord Jesus said Himself, speaking of Christians, in Matt. 5:14, 1614Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. (Matthew 5:14)
16Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. (Matthew 5:16), "Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid; " and, " Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." Of course you know this can only be said to those whose sins are washed away in the blood of Christ, because no one else can do anything which will please God. The Lord tells us to shine, which means that we are to let everyone see to whom we belong, and whom we want to serve. Think of this, "Even Christ pleased not Himself."
I suppose Lucy had heard her mother read what the apostle Paul said in Acts 20:3535I have showed you all things, how that so laboring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive. (Acts 20:35), " Ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how He said, It is more blessed to give than to receive." Lucy did remember this, and, as it was the wish of One she loved, she acted on it.
Dear children, do you really love Jesus "best of everything"? The time is very short for us to have the joy of loving Jesus and shining for Him in this dark world; and if it be joy for us, how much greater must be the joy to Him!
A. B. Y.
We will now turn to a different kind of service, one which is of a very sweet character.
LITTLE MARY'S SERVICE OF LOVE.
Little Mary lost her father and mother when she was very young-her mother died when she was a baby, and her father when she was just nine years old. It was a great sorrow to the poor child to see her father laid in the churchyard beside her mother, for she then felt that she was left alone in the world. Yet little Mary did not feel quite alone, for she was a Christian, and had learned the love of Jesus, and knew that He would be with her wherever she went.
But there was a trial before her which she dreaded-she had to leave the dear old home in the village, and go to a city far away, to live with an aunt and uncle, whom she had only seen once or twice in her life.
Mary's first night in her new home was not a happy one; her aunt did not mean to be unkind, but she was a busy, bustling woman, too much absorbed in the cares of her household to think of comforting the little, lonely orphan. Her uncle had stayed late at his work, and her cousins, who were quite strangers to her, amused themselves with teasing the lonely orphan.
Poor little Mary! how glad she was when it was time to go upstairs to bed. When she went to her room, she found that it was not unoccupied. There were two little beds there, and on one lay a pale girl, with such a sad, weary face. " I put you here, Mary," said her aunt, " thinking, perhaps, if Janie wanted anything in the night you would get it for her, for you have been used to getting up at nights to your father, and if you will do that, you will be a comfort to me," and with a hasty kiss, the aunt went downstairs and left the two girls alone.
Mary soon learned that poor Janie was suffering from a spinal complaint, and could not move from her bed. It caused Janie very great pain at times, and the poor child led a lonely, weary life, being almost constantly in that one little room at the top of the house. Mary's kind little heart was touched when she heard the story of her cousin's sufferings; and when she knelt to pray, she asked that she might be enabled to make Janie's sad life happier.
Mary's prayer was fully answered; and many and many an hour of the bright sunny days of that summer did she spend in Janie's room, talking to her, reading to her, and singing to her the hymns she had learned with her father. Mary soon found Janie was not a Christian, and it was her constant prayer that she might lead her to Jesus.
One Sunday evening, Janie asked Mary how she could be so happy, when her father and mother were both dead. "Because," answered Mary, "I know I shall go to them in heaven some day."
"How do you know that?" asked Janie; "perhaps you won't be good enough."
"No, I shall never be good enough," said Mary; "but Jesus has forgiven me all my sins, because He died for me, so He will take me to heaven."
"Do you think He would take me if I died?" asked Janie.
"Do you believe that He has forgiven you all your sins?" said Mary.
"May I believe that?"
"Yes, listen, and I will read you what the Bible says: God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.' And again: Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.' "
" You know," Mary continued, " that Jesus was punished instead of us; you know all about His dying on the cross, and how He suffered, that we might be forgiven. Jesus has done it all, and we have only to believe. You may believe in Jesus, Janie."
Mary was called downstairs then, and Janie took the little Bible she had left on the bed, and read it as she had never read it before; and when Mary came up she guessed, by the happy smile on Janie's face, that the Lord Jesus had spoken to her heart.
J. S.
It will always be found that those Christians who most distinctly show by their words and ways that they do really belong to the Lord Jesus, get most easily through the laughter and the scorn which of necessity must beset a godly path; while timid, half-and-half Christian conduct will meet the reward it deserves. The Lord says we cannot serve two masters. May it be the happy privilege of our young friends who love the Lord to be amongst the Lord's servants who serve Him alone.
BE DECIDED FOR CHRIST.
In a large boys' school, not far from London, the scarlet fever broke out, and about twenty of the scholars were attacked. But owing to God's special providence, all were mercifully spared. After awhile the school re-assembled. One of the boys, Arthur——, a youth of sixteen, had been brought during his illness to think seriously that he might be called at any time to meet God., and his heart told him that he was not ready.
When Arthur came back, and saw his companions who had lain beside him racked with burning fever, now restored to health, he felt deeply impressed with the goodness of God. Arthur had not been brought up in the fear of God; the boy had early lost his parents, and had been much neglected, neither was his natural disposition very amiable. It was God's Holy Spirit which was drawing him after God and working in his heart, although Arthur was entirely ignorant of Him.
One of Arthur's close companions, to whom he was much attached, had, like himself, been ill. Arthur told this boy one morning how very unhappy he felt, that his sins troubled him, and that he wanted to give his heart to God, but did not know how. "I cannot forget God's love in sparing our lives, and," added he, "have you not thought of this, too?"
"Well," said Willie, "I am afraid if we turn religious we shall be laughed at and persecuted by the other boys."
"Never mind," said Arthur, "they won't kill us if they do call us names. What I want to know is, whether you will join me in coming right out at once? "
"What do you mean to do, Arthur?" asked his friend, rather alarmed..
"This I mean to do-to kneel down tonight by the side of my bed, and to thank God aloud for having spared our lives; to beg Him to forgive us all our sins, and to make us to love Him. Don't you think that's right, Willie? Where should we have gone had we died?"
"I am afraid to hell," said Willie, thoughtfully, "for not one of us is religious."
Night came; the school was gathered together to hear the principal read the usual prayers, and the boys were dispersed to their several sleeping rooms. About fifteen of them slept in the same room with Arthur and Willie, and as they all began to undress, the two friends knelt by the side of each other; and Arthur openly and boldly thanked God for restoration to health, and fervently implored His blessing on his soul, and upon all the boys in the school, and especially upon those who had been ill.
A murmur of surprise and of disapproval was at once heard; then a whispering and laughing, which ended in pillows and bolsters being flung at the praying boys' heads. This they bore patiently; made neither noise nor resistance, but quietly got into bed, and were soon fast asleep.
The next day all the school rang with the story of Arthur, the praying boy, and the fun the others had had in throwing the pillows at them. However, that act of decision proved the turning-point in Arthur's life. His soul was blessed; God heard his prayer; and the Holy Spirit, who had taught him his lost state, showed him Jesus-as his Savior. Arthur henceforth loved his Bible, and the word became very sweet and precious to him.
The principal of the school soon heard about the praying every night before going to bed, and that the boys tormented him on account of it. He questioned Arthur, who told him simply what he felt respecting God's goodness in sparing them in the fever, and how he wished to belong to God forever. The master granted Arthur a little room, where he and other boys met together and read God's word and prayed. Arthur's conduct and that of several others became so changed that the school at length left off tormenting the "praying band." Arthur, who has long left school, is now a valiant champion of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Christian boys in schools, you may get persecuted by your schoolmates if you are decided for Christ, but be open and bold as was Arthur, for, " if God be for us, who can be against us? J. L. M. V.
There are numberless ways in which the Christian child can serve the Lord. None are too young to help others. And the young have a peculiar way of imparting pleasure to
the old. A call made upon an aged person,
with even a bunch of flowers as a gift, would often cheer the lonely heart. Again, we say the Lord despises not the little things, and remind you that the cup of cold water given in His name to one of His own is pleasant to Him, and will not be forgotten.
Be not careful to do some great thing in order to serve the Lord, but seek for grace, that in the many little things which make up your life you may so act that the Lord Jesus shall say of you, "Well done, good and faithful servant," or, "She hath done what she could."
JESUS BIDS US SHINE.
Jesus bids us shine,
With a pure clear light,
Like a little candle
Burning in the night.
In the world of darkness
So we must shine,
You in your small corner
And I in mine.
Jesus bids us shine
First of all for Him;
Well He sees and knows it,
If our light grows dim.
He looks down from heaven
To see us shine
You in your small corner
And I in mine.
Jesus bids us shine,
Then, for all around,
For many kinds of darkness
In the world are found.
There's sin, there's want, and sorrow,
So we must shine,
You in your small corner
And I in mine.