January 1929
45
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making. If we are unsatisfied and miser able in our Christian life, it can usually be traced back to some point where we took our own way instead of God’s way, went against the light of His Word and the leadings of His Spirit and indulged in sin. There can be no further growth until we go back to that point and get right with God. How many there are who have ceased to grow in life and in service because they leaned upon their own understanding and did not acknowledge Him in all their ways! (Prov. 3:5-6). Divine blessing in the path of life must be paid for in the coin of obeying our best light. Have we yet learned that “the way of man is not in himself”; that “it is not in man to direct his steps"? (Jer. 10:23.) God wants our obedience, not simply our patronage. His treasure house of blessings is open only to those who carry the golden key of obedience. 4. W in O thers No Christian grows so fast as he who knows the joy of winning others to Christ. No wonder, for did not our Lord promise the perpetual sense of His presence and power to those who should carry His message of salvation to others? (Mt. 28:18-20.) Pity the Christian who feels, as did Cain of old, that he is not his brother’s keeper (Gen. 4:9). Envy the Christian who, like Andrew, goes, immediately upon finding Christ, to lead his brother to Him (Jn. 1:39-40). It is doubtful if there is any joy in this world equal to the soul-winner’s joy (1 Thess. 2:19), and not only does he find joy for himself but he spreads joy on earth and in heaven (Lk. 15:24; 15:7). We can neither be square with our friends nor loyal to Christ and withhold the news of His saving power (Rom. 1: 16). The very least we can do in grati tude for salvation is to say to our friends : “Come and hear . . . . and I will de clare what he hath done for my soul” (Psa. 66:16). Keep your light shining for Christ and He will see to it that it shines more brightly and has greater opportunities to shine. The mere “church-going” Chris tian is not thé growing Christian. The light that is kindled in church must do its burning on the street and in the store and shop and office. Dr. Beecher once said : “The longer I live, the more I value those sermons where one man is thq preacher and one man is the congregation.” This is the kind of work our Lord did and the kind He taught His followers to do. He had no stereotyped plan of personal work. He treated individual cases according to the peculiar circumstances. He made use of ordinary incidents of life to make the way of approach. He filled up the vacant moments in telling people by the wayside of their need of salvation. Truly, “He that winneth souls is wise” (Prov. 11:30). The soul-winner is a growing Christian. “Let him know that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death and shall hide a multitude of sins” (Jas. 5:20). Nothing gives the devil greater pleasure than to see a Christian manifest no interest in the salvation of others. H. Clay Trumbull said: “If there is one thing Satan is sensitive about, it is the danger of a Christian harming the cause he loves by speaking of Christ to a needy soul.”
The four selections printed as lesson material suggest different stages in Peter’s growth in Christian character, but of themselves they do not have the continuity and movement that are such great aids in the teaching of children; so that to do the most .effective work with this lesson we shall need to draw upon knowledge of other Scriptures to round out the story of Peter’s life. Prominently alongside of this, if we make proper reference to the record of Jesus in Luke 2 :52, we are likely to find that the boys and girls have gained some degree of familiarity with that verse through con tact with organizations which find in it a fourfold growth,—namely, the mental, “wisdom” ; physical, “stature” ; spiritual, “favor with God” ; and the social, favor with “man.” Recalling that the birthday anniver saries of Lincoln and Washington are in this month, we may capitalize the children’s interest in that fact by asking what difference it would have made to men like Lincoln and Washington, and to the world, if they had failed to grow along one or more of the four lines sug gested above. Since Peter was by no means the perfect man, even the boys and girls may find encouragement in the thought that though Peter failed miserably at times while growing, nevertheless he grew; and with all his bitter experiences, there was so much growth and triumph that he could urge upon others the Golden Text for this lesson,—“grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” The old saying, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again,” is quite applicable to the matter of Christian growth. As the great tree grows in strength year after year in re sisting the storms, so Christian growth is made in the face of opposition from within and without. Let us remember that Simon became Peter; the boy Abe be came the immortal Lincoln; the son George became Washington, “the father of his country” ; and while we would not for a moment put Jesus in the same category, is it not also true that the child Jesus became Christ the Lord of all? “These all” grew and achieved in spite of bitter obstacles. Eyerything that is made to grow starts to die when it stops growing; and this is true in growth of Christian character. The boy or girl who aspires to be Presi dent or a minister or missionary, or to fill some other worthy place in life, must see that wishing will not be enough and that it will be necessary for them to grow to it. One may grow weeds or flowers and fruit in a garden, and the same is true of life, but to grow under the influence of the Spirit of God’s love is to be “Growing Like Jesus” the fruits that delight the Father’s heart and bring blessing to other lives. TELL ME, TEACHER : Was it easier for Andrew to find “first his own brother” ? Why is i t .that men like Peter have a place in the Bible? Why did Jesus ask Peter “Lovest thou me?” three times. What do you mean by “grow in grace” and by “character” ? Will we ever come to the place where we cannot grow in knowledge and char acter ?
S even P ’ s of S piritual P rogress Persevere....... ______ .... Phil. 3 :13. Pray..... ..„¿Li:,....... . Phil. 4 : 6 . Proclaim...... ___________ Psa. 107:2. Peruse...,........,...:..,....... 2 Tim. 2:15. Pay..... ...'......,.ri,................. Matt. 10: 8 . Praise.......................... J Psa. 63:3. Participate...!..,..:................ Heb. 10:25. G rowth Through: Study...................S h U 2 Tim. 3 :16-17. Supplication.................. Eph. 6 :18. Spirit-filled life.............. Gal. 5 :22-23. Service...—....................... Heb. 13:16. Supporting church...... Psa. 50:5. —o— G olden T ext I llustration Billy Sunday is credited with the story of a negro convert whom he stopped one day and asked the question: “If you were walking along the road and saw a low branch and on that branch a nice fat chicken, what would you do?” “Please don’t ask me dat question,” begged the darky. When Mr. Sunday insisted upon an answer, the negro replied: “Well, Mistah Sunday, you know ah’s only an infant in de kingdom.” It is to be feared there are many in fants in the kingdom who are not young in years, but who have failed to grow because they have not made use of the means of grace. —o— G rowing L ike J esus Texts: John 1:40-42; Matt. 16:15-18; John 21:15-19; 2 Peter 3:18a Suppose a boy or girl grew in mind but not in body, or in body but not in mind; in either case there would not be what we call a normal person. We hear of many who are interested in ath letics and who de velop the body but not the mind, and some develop the mind but not the body; but when we are told in Luke 2:52 that “Jesus in creased in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and man,” it is then that we have set before us the true stand ard for Christian growth. FRED S. SHEPARD ’S BLACKBOARD OU TL INE ¡ lïâÈK Grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ (2 Pet. 3:18).
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^ O €> a; Jesus grew thus.—Luke 2:52
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