The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1905-05-12
]" And a Little Child
~ Shall Lead Them.
A Sermon
or Parents.
Suffer Little Children to Come Unto Me
and Forbid Them Not for Of Such Is The
Kingdom @ Heaven
Describing the
Heights 0nd Depths
Of Love.
links than cannon joys"

links than cannon joys"
Do we not know that a grave can
not be so small that it fails to find in
the parents hearts the place which
in Gods infinite wisdom has been set
aside for the memorial to every child
of love? The parent obtains new in
terest in every days development of
the child from birth to the limits of
babyhOod; he obtains new interest in
every years development of the boy
whether it be from kits to knee
pants, from knee pants to long trou-
sers, or from smooth face to the first
touch of downy beard; and every
turn carries "a new sensation to the
parents heart. How often, also, has
the sentence passed between father
and mother as they anxiously bent
over the sick child's bed: He's lust
at the age when it will be hardest to
lose him - But is is because the Ia
rents love best the child that is sick
that they think that death at that
age would be the "hardest.'' At anv
age and at all ages, from babvhood
even unto manhood, the death of a
child calls into the parents heart
and the parents heart, always on
guard in the child's interest, makes
prompt and grief-stricken response.
Now, let those whose hearts do
not yet wear these sears imagine
what they would do if asked to choose
one of their children whom they could
best spare. There is an old story,
told in homely verse, that illustrates
this point well. \ father and mother
had been offered a house and land if
in return from out of their sevt n
children one child should be given to
the donor. Poverty seems to have
pressed heavily upon that home and
seven mouths to feed brought great
The mother suggest
ed that they choose among the little
ones as they slept; so walking hand
i'll hand they surveyed the inmates of
their household. First to the cradle
where the baby slept; then ''beside
the trundie bed, where one long ray
of lamplight shed athWart the boyiSh
faces there, in sleep SO pitiful and
fair" and then from one to the other.
from the first-born to the Benjamin"
Of the flock, the father and the moth
ar went, declaring beside the bed of
each sleeping form: mot this one,
40, not this One.'' Then turning even
% where ''poor Dick, bad Dick, the
son, turbulent, reckless,
die one," slept in spite of con-
science bad, they asked: Gould he |
De spared?" and answered NAY, He |
who gave, babe us defend him to his |
grave; only a mOCher's heart can be |
patient enough for such as he" 1.-The |
verse tells US that when the |
our of inspection had been conclud- |
I'd: They wrote in courteous way |
hey could not drive one child away"
There is, indeed, not one to spare,
until there comes the command to |
which all mortals must in sorrow |
DOW. Keen though that sorrow, large |
hOugh the responsibilities which the |
,hild brought, great though the sac
ifices it required, we would not, if |
We could, part with the SORROWS, if by |
loing so we must blot out the great |
act that a little child came into our
life to teach US the way to love, to |
how us the way to live and to tell us |
he way to die
And there a little child shall lead |
hem! There many little child has |
ed them There the boosted know
lothingism of the agnostic, or the ,
proud declarations of the infidel |
cave men helpless and hopeless where |
he faith OF the mothers points I'M