SAVING THE CHILD.

White Ribbon, Volume 22, Issue 253, 18 July 1916, Page 5

SAVING THE CHILD.

God wants the boys and girls. Do we put His claim before aught else? Is it with us Christ, —to bring the children to Christ, then that they ma> be saved for Christ, not for our glory and convenience as parefit, superintendent, teacher, leader, employer, or what not; not for tne honour of our church, society, class; but for His glory alone? “Cod wants the boys, the merry, merry boys, The noisy boys, the funny boys, The thoughtless boys; God wants the boys with all their joys. That He as gold may make them pure, And teach them trials to endure; His heroes brave lie’ll have them be. righting for truth and purity— God wants the boys. “Cod wants the happy-hearted girls The loving girls, tin* best of girls, The worst of girls; (iod wants to make the girls lli» pearls, And so reflect Ills holy face, And bring to mind His wondrous grace, That beautiful the world may be, And tilled with love and purity—(iod wants the girls.” Asked a Sunday Sc hool teacher of her class, “At what age should a child give her heart to (iod?" Various ages were given, when a tiny girl piped in with, “Please, teacher, as soon as we know about God and Jesus.” There is no need for the “sowing of wild oats,” no need for the* feet to wander in bye-paths of sin. And in co-operation with (iod by the* Holy Spirit, we may be used of Him to bring the children to the* Saviour; used of Him by precept and example to build them up in their most holy faith. Then established and built up in Christ Jesus our Lord, they, too, will go forth to challenge that trinity of evil, the world, the flesh, and the' devil, in His Name, for His sake. As in the Army, so elsewhere, tn*:re is constant depletion of forces, depreciation, loss, to be made good by the ever calling up of fresh recruits. Where better could we look for our spiritual warriors than among those whom we have cherished God-ward from their earliest years in

Infant, Sunday School, Society, and Hible Class? Who better fitted to meet the Holy Spirit standard of service and equipment? If not, why not? Are we aiming at child-conver-sion, and to this end are our works wrought in God? Surely, then,, there* must be wrought in out young people the saving grace of God in Christ Jesus, that finds expression in bringing others to like saving knowledge of the truth —truth not in the abstract, but as embodied in Him who is “The Truth.” There should be in us the holy optimism that despairs of none. “Give us the material” should be our cry. “Give us the* chance,” yes, with “the child c ursed from its birth,” as said General booth, and in co-partnership with our God, tho results will be worthy of the Divine-human Firm. We have seen, have known, what the Divine alchemy can do in transmuting base metal into precious. “Who is sufficient for these things? ’ “Our sufficiency is of (iod.” A college professor relates how his. horse once almost trod upon a little hunch-back girl. The foul epithets she hurled at him held him appalled. He could not get thr child off his mind, and at length persuaded her parents to allow her to go to the .Mission School. There, under Christian influence she blossomed out into sweet, chaste, holy girlhood. She graduated, became a teacher, and after a time offered herself as a missionary “to fill the hardest place.” Her request was granted, and in the* region of the* Euphrates she founded four large churc hes, and was instrumental in leading many thousands to the Saviour.

The great l)r. Arnold, of Rugby, was it not, who raised his hat to the schoolboy a> a possible future* statesman of England. So we would honour the child, not alone for its possible honourable position as a citizen of earth, but for the sake of Him by whom childhood has been honoured, and in co-operation with Mini’, seek to realise all his untold possibilities for good, both as citizen of heaven and earth. Amen. GERTRCDE COCKERELL.