November, 1940 T
TH E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
417
Junior K ing 's Business By M A R T H A S. H O O K E R . Member of Faculty, Bible Institute of Los Angeles
GIVING THANKS FOR ARLENE By F rances N oble P hair [ All rights reserved ]
K HAT special day do we cele brate in November, children?” “Thanksgiving!” came in a chorus of voices. Little Jimmie, busy with crayons in his sunny corner, looked up suddenly from the picture he was coloring, and his shrill voice piped up as the others died down, "Thanksliving!” There was a shout of laughter, and a smile crinkled Miss Ann’s eyes for a moment, and then she said quietly, “That is not so bad, Jimmie. What a Thanksgiving Day the world would have if we who have so much to be thankful for would live our thanks by loving the Lord Jesus and telling others about Him instead of spending most of our day eating more than is good for us or in going to a big game! “Boys and lgirls, I know of some one who lived such a loving, helpful, happy life that she made just ordinary days Thanksgiving days for herself and those she was with. I have been wanting to tell you about her; would you like that story today?” Miss Ann’s eyes twin kled. “I hear only a few ‘yes’s,’ ” she went on, “and''I believe I know why— you think I ’in going to talk about some white-haired old lady, but I’m not. This is a really true story about a little girl with big blue eyes and golden curls, younger than any one here today ex cept Jimmie.” The chorus of “Oh, yes, please do!” seemed to satisfy Miss Ann, and she began. “Arlene was only four years old when she came to live with her Aunt Edna and Uncle Bill. I lived with them, too, that year, so I met her there, a dear little fair-haired girl with shining blue eyes who loved everybody. One day an old friend asked her whose little girl she was, and she answered, ‘I’m everybody’s little girl.’ But that was after the great est thing that could happen had come into Arlene’s life.” Miss Ann smiled at the knowing looks in the eyes of the children gathered be fore her. “I am sure you are guessing, and guessing right,” she said. “And it happened in a Child Evangelism class like burs. Arlene’s aunt had called to get her after the class. All the other children ha,d gone, and Arlene was stand ing beside her teacher with a very sober face. Seeing the little girl’s serious look, her teacher said gently, .‘Did you want me to pray with you, dear?’
“ ‘Yes,’ answered Arlene. Outside the door her aunt heard her question, ‘How can I open my door for Jesus?’ “The teacher 'had used the words in Revelation 3:20, ‘Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me,’ and she explained that know ing from God’s Word that Jesus had diecf on the cross to save us from our sins, and wanting Him to do this for us, was hearing His voice; and asking Him to come into our hearts to do this was ‘opening the door.’ Then her aunt heard Arlene’s voice in prayer, ‘Come into my heart, Lord Jesus, for a little while— oh, no, come in to stay for a long titne.’ «“After that she became one of the sweetest children we ever knew. Christ lived in her. She loved every one and was^very eager that everybody should know the Lord Jesus. She seemed to be able to tell when people were not Chris tians, and how she would pray for them! She always folded her hands and closed her eyes very tightly when she prayed, and she would stop just where she was, to talk to Him. “She found that a workman who came to the house one day to make some re pairs did not know the Lord; and she followed him about, singing the chorus, “ ‘Everybody ought to love Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, He died on the cross to save us from sin; Everybody ought to love Jesus.’ “The Lbrd Jesus promised His dis ciples before He went back to heavén that they should receive power to be come witnesses for Him. And although Arlene was such a little girl, the con stant desire in' her heart was to tell others about the Lord Jesús. One day when she was visiting her grandmother, she. called to a little girl across the street to come to play with her. “ ‘Oh, I./can’t,’ said the little girl, ‘I’m going to the movies.’ “ ‘Oh, no,! said Arlene, ‘don’t go to the movies; Jesus doesn’t like it.’ “ ‘Who are you talking about?’ said the little girl. ‘Who is Jesus?’ "Arlene rushed into the house to her grandmother. ‘Oh, Grandmother,’ she cried, ‘do take me across the street quickly to tell that little girl about Jesus —she doesn't know about Him!* “Arlene loved the Lord very much, and she was perfectly sure He heard
What Do They. Say? “What do you think the angels say?" Said the children up in heaven, “There’s a dear little girl coming home today; She is almost ready to fly away From the earth she used to live in. Let’s go and open the gates of pearl, Open, them wide for this dear little girl,” Said the children up in heaven. “Far on the earth do you hear them weep ?” Asked the children up in heaven. “ For the dear little girl has gone to sleep. The shadows fall, the night clouds sweep O’er the earth we used to live in. We’ll go and open the gates of pearl, Oh, why do they weep for the little girl?” Asked the children up in heaven. “ God wanted, her here where His little ones meet,” Said the children up in heaven. “She shall play with us in the golden street; She had grown too fair, she had grown too sweet Fdr the earth we used to live in. She needed the sunshine, this dear little girl, That gilds this side of the gates of pearl,” Said the children up in heaven. “Fly with her quickly, angels dear,” , Said the children up in heaven. See, she is coming! Look here! Look there— At the jasper light in her sunny hair Where the veiling clouds are riven! Oh, hush! hush! hush! the swift wings furl,. For the'King Himself at the gates of pearl Iq, leading her up in heaven! —Author Unknown.
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