The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1895-02-02
THELESSON STORY.

At our IessOn-date brief season of
quiet had come to the external life of the
Master. The espionage of his relentless
foes was for the time relaxed He had
therefore come back from the Hierarchy of
Philip to his own country. After period
of guarded journeyings among the Cali
leans Mark 9: 3o), he had deemed it pru-
dent to openly return to his own house at
Capernaum,- home still being, as we
infer, the home of the apostle Peter Here
Jesus was often in conference with his
friends, while he continued his instruction
to his Twelve.
Having taught his disciples Matt II:
"a 27) in regard to paying tribute to the
Roman government, they come to him
again with question which, from their
viewpoint, they deemed important.
1. Realization of Spiritual Child
hood the Greatest Thing in the
Kingdom of Heaven,-vs. IA.
In that hour came tie disciples unto /e
sHS, saying, U,AO then is greatest in tie
kingaon Of heaVen? Tits question grew
out of a dispute among the disciples(Mark
o:3s) as to who woull be chiefly hon
ored in the kingdom of the Christ. While
they by this time must have become
convinced that the kingdom of Jesus was
not like any other Kingdom, they neverthe
less could not yet conceive of kingdom
entirely spiritual,-a Kingdom where the
King was also the Father. They had seen
their Master seemingly favor Peter, John
and James, by choosing them as his COM
panions on the mountain. The query was
natural: Which ones would he make the
highest officers in his Kingdom Which
would be his grand visier? Which his
lord chamberlain? Which his treasure
keeper? Their question may have been
prompted by the one to whom it would be
naturally the most interesting,-namely,
Judas.
Jesus paused before replying to his dis
ciples' question. He would teach a truth
which never could be forgotten; a lesson
concerning the nature of his kingdom on
the thorough learning of which by his dis
cIples his earthly cause was in the coming
time to be dependent.
He called to him a Aittle child and set
him in tie midst Of them. Here we find
child in the house; little child who at
once came to him at his call: it is easy to
believe,-yet not of course a certain thing,
that he was in Peters home and that this
was Peters child. Many beautiful sug.
gestions come to us from the incidental
facts that this little one was close at hand,
and needed no urging to take place on
the knees of Jesus as he sat among the
Twelve.
VeriLy I say unto .y0H, said Jesus to his
disciples, Except ye turn and become as
lille cAilayeH, ye shall in no mise enter
into the kingdom Of heaven. To become
as little child in spirit means, distinctive
ly, to realize Gods Fatherhood. 1t means
implicit trust in the Father for love and
care. 1t means glad submission to the
Fathers will, as an earthly child when in
need or danger iastinctively trusts its
earthly parents guidance. Childhood to
God logically means a joyous response to
the Fathers love; happiness far greater
than any earthly honors can give. 1t is to
lose selfshness, narrownoss, envy, hatred
in the enhancing consciousness of heirsh;p
to the Great King. Except therefore the
disciples turned from their sordd earthly
ambitions, which could only be fulfilled by
transsression of the spirit of human child
hood to God, and entered into the spirit
of the truth that the kingdom in which
they were to seek honors was not so much
a kingdom as home where the chief thing
was the Fathers favor,-unless they did
this, manifestly they could not have any
place whatever, whether low or high, in
the heavenly state. Realized childhood
to the Father makes heaven.
WhOsoeVey therefore shall humble him
self as this Aftle eAikz, tie same is the
greatest in the kingdom Of AsaVsH. The
child in Jesus arms exhibited the unearth-