THERE are few Christians who need more encouragement than the Sunday-school teacher. While the gospel preacher may often meet with success in telling out the message of God to sinners, the teacher of the young often has to wait for years before the seed sown springs up, and besides all that, how much indifference is shown by many children! Little do they know how they are trying the hearts of their teachers, who, doubtless, have been praying to the Lord beforehand that He may bless the word spoken, and then to all appearance there has not been one listening ear, or one who has received the seed in good ground, and the teacher is almost ready to say, “I fear I am spending my strength for naught.”
Dear fellow-Christian, “Be not weary in well-doing, for in due season ye shall reap, if ye faint not.” How many have gone on year after year, and have seen little fruit, but do not forget that this work is God’s. If you have set the plain word of God before the dear children, you know He has said, “My word shall not return unto Me void, but it shall accomplish that whereunto I have sent it,” and how often has a soul been brought to the Lord in after years through a word sown in the heart in the Sunday-school.
“Sow ye beside all waters” is another word for you and for me. Which is to prosper must be left to Him who knoweth the end from the beginning; it may be that all are alike good.
Dear reader, do not lose sight of this fact, it is of His own good pleasure that He uses us at all. Could not the Lord accomplish His purposes of grace to the sinner without our help at all? Most certainly. But He desires fruit that may abound to our account, and our own desire should be alone for His glory. Think of the gracious ways of the Lord to His disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, after His resurrection. They had taken up their occupation again. “But that night they caught nothing.”
Jesus said, “Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find.”
They had been trying all night on the wrong side. What a lesson for us, dear reader. We must first seek His mind before we try to win souls to Him. You know the result of casting on the right side.
Jesus said, “Bring of the fish which ye have now caught.” Could He not rightly have said, “Which I have driven into your nets”? But no, He gives them the credit of having caught them. And so it is when our gracious Lord sends one of His children on a message of mercy. He stirs up the conscience, plowing it up ready to receive the seed. Sometimes we go with slow step and doubting heart to deposit it. He waters it by the word, causes it to spring up, bear fruit, and then gives us the credit of having brought a soul to Christ, and by-and-bye we shall be rewarded for what has been all His own work. Oh, what grace is in the loving heart of Jesus!
May we ever be ready with hands to work and feet to run in His service, not because it is a duty merely, and not for the reward, but because we love Him who has done such wonderful things for us. Not that we can boast of the greatness of our love (we can of His), but we can say with Peter, “Lord, Thou knowest all things, Thou knowest that I love Thee.” Well might we say―
“I dare not work my soul to save,
That work my Lord has done,
But I would work like any slave,
From love to God’s dear Son.”
I should like to tell you of some young girls in the Bible Class, who have lately confessed Christ, that you may be encouraged in your work of love.
Some Bible questions are written out for those who care to have them about once a month. A little while ago a few personal questions were addressed to them at the end of the paper, and they were exhorted to answer them truly.
These were the questions: ―
What think ye of Christ?
What is He to you?
What value do you put upon the shed blood?
Was it shed for you?
These questions brought back some bright answers, and here they are: —
1. “Jesus Christ is my Saviour, whose most precious blood was shed to wash away my sins.” — L. B.
2. “I think―
“He’s altogether lovely, none can with Him compare, The chief among ten thousand, the fairest of the fair.’
“He is the Perfect One, the One who left His Father’s glory to die for me. He is my Saviour, my help in time of trouble. He is the rock on which I stand. He is my all, my everything.
Yes, thank God, His blood was shed for me, and I have accepted it.” — N. W.
3. “I think of Christ as my Saviour and Friend. He is to me my Saviour who died on the cross to save me. The shed blood is valuable to me, because in that all my sins were washed away — it was shed for me.” —F. M.
4. Another, A. P., said she would rather tell me herself than write it, and so she did, and has since cast in her lot with the people of God.
These young girls have been in this school for years, most probably have received the word in the heart while much younger, which has been watered by other teachers, and now springs up, bringing forth fruit to God. There are many more in the class who do not take the same interest, yet are attentive listeners, so that we can count upon a blessing for them also, and can thank God and take courage.
May we, dear Christian reader, be strengthened to encourage ourselves in the Lord our God, that we may be encouraged by Himself.
I would affectionately ask the unsaved reader to ponder these words, “What think ye of Christ?” Soon you will have to meet Him face to face.
S. R. F.