JUNIOR KING'S BUSINESS Edited by Martha S. Hooker A Borrowed MOTHER by T ommy D avis sat in his Sunday- school class and listened while his Flora Sweetnam “I never saw you go. I thought maybe you would this once.”
THE ONE DOLLAR BILL I have before me a one-dollar bill. Have you ever examined one care fully? There is no danger of my not recognizing it as a one-dollar bill, for it has “one” on it, in some form, twenty-five times! To those who han dle it or see it, the bill is really saying, twenty-five times, “I am a one-dollar bill!” It seems eager to let it be known th a t it is a one-dollar bill. This small, green piece of paper is really sending out a challenge to those of us who know the Lord Jesus as our Saviour—telling us th a t we should let it be known th a t we belong to Him. The bill makes no secret of the fact th a t it is a one-dollar bill, does it? Why should we ever try to hide the fact th a t we belong to the Lord Jesus, and th a t He is our Saviour? God’s Word says much about con fessing Him “before men” and “w ith the mouth.” Read from your Bibles Romans 10:9, 10 and M athew 10:32. Do you see w hat the word “confess” means here? Yes, it is very important to tell others th a t we are Christians and th a t the Lord Jesus died for us. I once knew a little girl who was so happy when she received the Lord Jesus as her Saviour, th a t she felt she had to share the good news w ith her playmates. She went to school the next day and announced to all of her friends, “I have given my heart to Jesus.” Her name was Jewel—and how glad she was to become one of Jesus’ precious jewels! There are other ways, too, to let it be known th a t we belong to the Lord Jesus. Did you ever hear your mother say, ‘ ‘ A c t i o n s speak louder than words” ? Surely you have! God’s Word says th a t we are to be “doers” of the Word as well as “hearers.” It is by the things th a t we do, and the words th a t we speak, th a t we should let others know th a t we belong to Jesus. God sees the heart, you know, but people see only your outward appear ance. How important it is, then, to let others know by all that we do th a t the Lord Jesus is our Saviour! There is a verse in Colossians 3:17 which says: “Whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus.” W hat an excellent motto for all of us! Think of the one-dollar bill. Remem ber how it is always trying to tell w hat it is. Let it rem ind you to be ready and w illing to show—in every place and in every way—th a t you be long to the Lord Jesus!—M.S.H. 35
teacher told them th a t next Sunday was Mother’s Day and th a t no boy was to come w ithout his mother. “But w hat if she can’t come?” one boy asked. “Then you must do a little extra work for her on Saturday, so she won’t have so much to do. How m any of you think th a t is a good plan?” Every hand went up in a hurry. “All righ t,” smiled the teacher, “I ’m going to see if you remember.” On the way home, the boys all talked and made plans about how they would get their mothers to come—all but Tommy. Tommy had no mother. It seemed to him a long, long time since she went to heaven. He lived w ith his aunt, bu t she was Harold’s mother. Harold would take her to Sunday-school, of course. As Tommy walked along home, he wondered w hat he would do. Then he thought of such a good plan th a t he almost laughed out loud. He could hardly w ait for tomorrow to try it. The next morning he surprised their neighbor, Mrs. Archer, by walking in and getting righ t down to business. “Say,” he began, “have you some work I could help you do next Sunday morning?” “You wouldn’t work on Sunday, would you?” she asked. “I—I—mean Saturday,” said Tom my. “Do you w ant to earn some money?” “No’m,” replied Tommy. “I don’t need any money. I — mean — I don’t need much money.” “W hat is it then?” “I need a mother to take to Sunday- school, because next Sunday’s Moth er’s Day. My teacher told us to be sure and b ring one.” “And—you haven’t any mother.” “No’m. T h a t’s why I w ant to help you do your work so you can go. T hat’s w hat she said to do—my teach er you know.” “Well, Tommy, why do you want me?” “Because,” said Tommy truthfully, MAY, 1961
“Tommy, you make me ashamed,” she told him. “Well, you come around here Saturday morning and I ’ll see if I can’t find something for you to do.” “And can I take you to Sunday- school?” “Bless your heart, yes.” “Thank you,” said Tommy. “I ’ll be here early.” Tommy went home very proud and happy. All the week he thought of things to do on Saturday. W hen Sat urday came, he hurried to Mrs. Archer’s house. She seemed glad to see him. He polished the stove, swept the porch and walk, and went to the grocer’s to bring home the provisions. When he came back, she baked a cake and let him scrape the bowl. “Did your own mother let you scrape it sometimes?” she asked. “Aunt E lizabeth does,” r e p l i e d Tommy. “I have half, and Harold has half. I can’t remember Mother much.” “I think you were five when she went to Heaven,” said Mrs. Archer. “And now I ’m eight. I t’s a long time.” When the work was finished, she gave Tommy a quarter. “But I didn’t w ant to be paid,” he began. “This isn’t pay,” she told him. “Take it to Sunday-school. Mothers do give th e ir boys something to pu t in, don’t they?” “Oh, yes’m. Thank you ■— I ’ll be here early.” The next morning Tommy walked proudly into Sunday-school w ith his borrowed mother and sat beside her till time to go to class. A lady near him noticed th a t he wore two flowers, and asked why. “The white one is for my mother in Heaven and the red one is for my borrowed mother,” explained Tommy. “I ’m going to let Tommy borrow me every Sunday after this,” prom ised Mrs. Archer. “Oh, my,” said Tommy, “won’t it be great!”
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