May, 1937
THE K I NG ' S BUS I NESS
169
Junior King's Business By MARTHA S. HOOKER
SMILES FOR GIGGLES B y B ertha B. M oore Illustration by Ransom D. Marvin
M iss M ason was trying very hard to impress her boys and girls with the wonderful fact that Jesus loved them and was yearning for them to accept Him as their very own personal Saviour. With all her heart she wanted every boy and girl in that Junior Department to be come a real, earnest, “ Stand-up-for-Jesus” Christian. But Eric, one of the very bright est boys in the ten-year-old class, simply sat and giggled while she spoke to them. P erhaps you know
hardly wait to come to Jesus. He would have been willing that morning to come with every one watching him, but for some reason Miss Mason never asked them that way. “ I wonder whether there is some one who wants to come to Jesus this morning?” asked Miss Mason, as soon as the eyes were closed and the heads were all bowed. Eric did not hesitate. Something was wrong with his eyes. They kept filling up, but he wiped them and marched straight to Miss Mason. Almost as soon as he reached her side, there stood Guy' beside him. Guy was his chum. After the other children were dismissed, Eric and Guy knelt beside Miss Mason and asked the Lord Jesus to forgive their sins and save them. Realizing that their prayers had been answered, they offered a prayer of thanksgiving and arose from their knees, very, very happy because they were Chris tians. Eric’s eyes still bothered him, but Miss Mason seemed to understand. “ God bless you, boys,” she said, as she shook hands with Eric and then with Guy. “ I have been praying for you every single day all week. It is wonderful to have you receive the Lord Jesus as your Saviour and give your hearts to Him now s'o that you will have long lives of usefulness for Him. May He make of each of you a real soul-winner.” That day Eric did not stop on the side walk. His heart was light. He was happy. He was on his way to heaven, and Jesus was his Captain. Memory Work for May Question: What was the command of the Lord Jesus about the little children when He was here upon earth? Answer: Jesus said, “ Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me; for of such is the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 19:14). Question: What is the heavenly Father’s will in regard to little children? Answer: “ Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish” (Matt. 18:14). Question: Is a child known by the things he does? Answer: “Even a child is known by his doings” (Prov. 11:20). Question: How may a boy or girl become a child of God? Answer: “As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name” (John 1:12).
will you follow as you leave this room for your homes?” Eric’s giggles were beginning to be less frequent. He merely glanced around at the other boys and girls with a little smirk on his face. But he did not receive much en couragement as he looked about. Many of the faces of his classmates were very seri ous. His own became more thoughtful. Then Miss Mason asked each one to bow his head and close his eyes tight and not
peep a bit while they prayed together. While all the eyes were closed, she gave the invitation to any one who wanted to come to Jesus that very morning. Eric felt an urge in his heart to raise his hand. Then a voice seemed to say to him, “Wait till some other time. Your friends will laugh at you. You don’t understand!” And he waited! Nancy and Tom and Marietta did not wait. One and then the other received the Lord Jesus as Saviour. And not a child laughed! Eric felt
how giggles are. Gig gling is a queer some thing. It seems often that the more one gig gles, the more he has to giggle. Thus it was with Eric. Miss Mason wished she could take him out into the church yard and punish him. Then she realized what was ac tually happening. It was Satan, the devil him self, that was the cause of Eric’s giggles. Satan did not want Eric to be come a Christian. He knew that just as soon as Eric surrendered his
heart to the Lord Jesus and gave his life to Him, Satan would lose Eric forever. And Satan is never willing to lose a single one of his followers, especially a young boy who might have a long life to devote to the Saviour. When Miss Mason realized what was happening, she prayed even as she talked. She was emphasizing the “ B Verse” in the Scripture alphabet: “Be not deceived.” Surely it seemed to her that Eric was be ing deceived. “ Children, I believe the Lord Jesus espe cially longs that boys and girls shall not be deceived into believing that they are too young to become Christians, that they are so good that they are saved already, that only grown-up people are lost. If you are believing that this morning, you are lost and are already on Satan’s road which is leading you straight toward hell. You who have not been deceived but who have believed in Jesus and have surrendered your hearts to Him and have become His boys and His girls, have already started up Jesus’ road, and He is leading you straight to heaven. Every girl and boy in this room is old enough to decide for him self whether or not he wants to follow Jesus or to follow Satan. You must be a follower of the one or the other. Now, which one
as if he were going to giggle again, but he managed to keep from it when he saw how serious every one else was. It was time to go home. Suddenly Eric stood perfectly still on the sidewalk. “Miss Mason said if we were not follow ing Jesus, we were following Satan. Why—y, I must be following Satan! And that means I am on my way to hell, just as I am on my way home. Oh, I wish I had asked Jesus to save me, too!” Poor Eric! He spent a perfectly miserable week, for he did not know that he could receive Jesus as his Saviour just any min ute, even though he was not in the Junior classroom with Miss Mason. It seemed to him as if Sunday would never come. He wished he could talk to his mother or to his father about the Saviour, but his parents seldom even went to church, and they never mentioned the name of the Lord Jesus at home. He did not suppose they could help him at all. Then Sunday came. The “ C Verse” was “ Come, ye chil dren.” Come! Ah, that was what he wanted to do. With all his heart he hoped that Miss Mason would have the boys and girls bow their heads and close their eyes again and that then she would ask whether any one wanted to come. He really did want to answer that invitation. He could
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