May, 1936
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
183
THE CHILD IN GOD’S PLAN [Continued from page 173]
fession of faith in the Lord Jesus when she was about four years of age. Recently a letter came from a young woman now in Christian work in Oklahoma, saying that she had been saved in one of the writer’s meetings when she was about four. It is a well-known fact that many Christian workers, including ministers and men who have been raised to positions of great re-, sponsibility, cannot recall the time of their conversion, so young were they. Yet they know that they now trust Christ as their Saviour, and they have joyous fellowship with Him. The writer is to be classed with those who are unable to recall the dajr and the hour of acceptance of Christ. Christ. Yes, these conversions in the very ear liest years may be- exceptional cases, but they do at least prove the rule. But what ever the age, it should be in childhood’s plastic period, before the “too late” hour arrives. The saving of the children is the hope of the race.
we should accept any and all Bible teach ings on faith, and on that basis should go forth to teach men what God has said, not waiting for “signs” or the confirmation of God’s Word in human experience, yet we have ample Bible basis for emphasiz ing the experiences of God’s redeemed. We know also that confirmation of Bible teaching by the experience of Christians tends to strengthen faith and establish confidence in the Word. After all, we are intensely human, and to know that others have come to God in childhood, confessed their sins, and received full and free for giveness,.necessarily pleases and en courages us. ■It was no less an outstanding Christian leader than Jonathan Edwards who tells us that Phoebe Bartlett was saved at the unusual age of only four years, and that she lived a life of many long years con firming her profession. The daughter of a pastor in whose church the writer held evangelistic services had made her pro-
capable of qualifying for acceptance by the Lord, both under Old Testament and New Testament requirements. God in His wisdom arranged for the child to live for about a dozen years in a period of dependency upon others, during which time faith in adults is a normal at titude of the child. Why should we not take advantage of this natural and easy confidence in others Leaving childhood and entering adulthood, we rather auto matically, certainly uniformly, slip into a questioning state. Doubt now grows easily and rapidly. In fact, the adolescent period might be represented by an inter rogation point. And the older we grow, the less of faith and the more of doubt we display. By actual counting, the writer found that eighty-seven per cent of con verts accepted Christ before they were' twenty years old—only thirteen per cent after that age ! Fifth, the Bible gives concrete instances of children’s being in a saved relationship with God. Although Eli was God’s proph et and was in full charge of church affairs, as we would say, the Lord passed him by and gave His message to little Samuel! The message was of primary im portance, and it was most confidentially given. In the New Testament we find the great and learned Apostle Paul testifying to the fact that Timothy had from a child known the Scriptures; able to make him wise unto salvation. These are only ex-, amples of the Biblical basis for the claim that children can and do know the Lord in the salvation of their sins. Sixth, the Bibîe:exhorts thé children to come to the Lord and be saved. In the Old Testament we find King Solomon pleading : “Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them” (Eccl. 12:1). While this passage is poetry, and the language highly pictur esque, nevertheless it sets forth à molt fundamental truth, and carries with it a most solemn warning. Then in the New Testament we hear from the lips of Jesus Himself those tender, appealing words to adults : “Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me; for of such is the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 19:14). Seventh, as a climax in the argfiment for the saving of the children, let it be stated here that God sets the child on a pedestal of supreme importance, in con nection with salvation, when He makes the child’s salvation the standard. How clearly and emphatically does He say : “Except ye [adults] be converted [turned], and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 18:3) ! As the child is saved, so must wë who are adults be saved. As the child so easily humbles- himself, so must we, at whatever sacrifice—of pride, egotism, self ishness, position, or possessions. As he is deeply sorry for his wrongdoings, So must adults grieve for their own sins, and must show a real readiness to give them up. W hat D o the R ecords S how ? Another question aroused by this subj ect of child evangelism is: Does history con firm this view? That is; has it been found true that in the past children could—and that they actually did—repent, believe, get saved, and become fully conscious of sal vation ? Here is a very important question, and one that is very properly raised. While
g ir ls ’ QUERY CORNER Conducted by B y M yrtle E. S cott
Q uestions for answ er in th is co rn er should be sen t to M iss S cott, 8961 D icks St., W est H o lly w o o d , Calif., an d a stam ped en velope should be en closed fo r reply. No nam e will ap p ear w ith th e questions chosen f o r p u b l i c a t i o n .
Where a friend of girls pre sents the girls’ best Friend
Dear Miss Scott: Do you think it any harm for a Christian girl to work in a beer parlor or place where they sell wine and drinks of that kind if she cannot find anything else to do? I know it is not the best way, and I some times feel condemned, but I cannot starve, and I cannot find anything else to do. Sometimes I think it does not matter much anyhow. I am very much alone in the world, and no one seems to care except my employer, and he only for the work I can get done. Of course I know God cares, but even though I am a Christian and per haps should not talk that way, life seems awfully empty and monotonous sometimes. I sometimes think, that if some of the Christians who testify of their joyous ex periences in their religion had to stand be hind a counter and serve food and drinks all day long, month after month, they would not find so much to be joyous about. I do not mean to be “catty,” and I hope I do not sound too pessimistic. Perhaps I am a big-LoNELY..''» My dear girl: Have you truly found the Lord Jesus Christ, your Saviour, as a real Friend and Companion? He is the only One who can be a constant and unfailing Friend. He can take away the loneliness and fill your life to overflowing with joy and the zest of living for things eternal. There is a good deal of monotony in most lives, is there not? I would not be surprised if those whom you have heard testify know something of that, too. But have you learned that our God can bring streams of refreshing in desert places? “In the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert” (Isa. 35:6). The life that the world would call drab and
barren is often the life which in that very desert place has found the secret that makes it “like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.” Lives that are spent in the midst of pov erty, sickness, or monotony may be glori fied by His Presence until those redeemed ones are living in a bit of heaven. In the desert of earthly circumstances, bushes, like the desert bush in Moses’ day, may burn with the Shekinah of God’s Presence. Whether you are in the place where God can do this for you is another and most important question. As you sell beer and wine, can you expect Him to stand beside you to bless, who said: “Woe unto him that giveth his neighbor drink” (Hab. 2:15)? You say “I cannot starve.” Why not? The writer to the Hebrews, after telling of some who had received wonderful deliver ances from the Lord, said: “Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection” (Heb. 11:35). Daniel was ready to face the lions’ den rather than to fail in the thing he knew would please his God. The three Hebrew young men would rather go to the fiery furnace than disobey the Lord. They were put to the test; but, oh, what a deliverance God gave them, and what a witness their lives were for God! Daniel’s God is your loving God. Is He not as ready to undertake for you? He may be saying,f^Prove me now,” to see whether you really will launch out on His promises and believe Him in spite of every circumstance. It may seem the eleventh hour before He acts, but He is never too late. Read Psalm 37 and “Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.”
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