Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1910-05-21

of childhood, the discoverer of poten-
tialities and later possibilities, Of that
nearness to God which we, tho not yet
dlmly, are coming to recognize All
that Wadsworth sought to express in
his wonderful ode one the limitations
of Immortality from the recollections
OF childhood are contained in the germ
in Jesus calm words "Of such is the
kingdom Of Heaven" He anticipated
Froebel. He is in advance of the mod
ern Sunday school psychologist as he
says suffer the children and forbid
them to come unto me" The normal
child needs needs not to be preached to
or scolded or urged to come to Jesus,
but only to have Jesus really shown
to him and he will come, unless hin
dered. Well would it be for the world
if in general this way were adopted.
If there We're more who could and
would reveal Christ to the world and
fewer who are f1indered fWWWypwy
fewer who We're hindering these who
seek to come to him. More who should
show Jesus to men instead of so much
preaching without the revelation OF
Him. Where few come now. throngs
would then be seeking Him. The wise
men saw the star and came. They
who can see Jesus shining in glorified
humanity will seek the source of the
illumination.
The Sunday school is to reveal Jesus
to the child If it fails in this, its
failure is complete.
Jesus was so utterly natural so ut
terly genuine that children loved and
trusted him for the child has not TAX
en- on lfe's artificialtes and decep-
tons. and Jesus understood the child
because he was himself in the most
perfect sense of the term Childlike.
"Of such is the kingdom of Heaven.
Here is the potential kingdom. The
kingdom of truth upon earth is the au-
thority of truth in the minds of men.
The wide open avenues to the mind of
the child is the opportunity of the
spirit of truth.
The mind of the child in its openness
to God and high inspirations and
truths. is the opportunity of the church
of Christ in the world. But the home
is the best place in which to teach the
young child ITS fundamental lessons
about Christ. The parents have the
supreme opportunity. That is not yet
fully a home into which the child
has not come The so-called home in
which the innocence and the loyal
hearted openness of the child mind
has not been known, where childish
joys and sorrows, laughter and tears
come not, in pitiful place. The best
of life has been denied. To seek to
have such a home is the utter folly Of
the selfish who in stupid self-induced
blindness are cheating themselves out
=, In,
adorn themselves with sinsel they like
those of whom Jesus speaks spurn the
choicest of earth pearls.
In speaking of the place of the child
in the kingdom of God, / will mention
first that there must be children II they
are to have place, in the kingdom of
God One good woman who brings
in to the world and rears a family of
wholesome children is doing more for
the kingdom than is many a reformer
who shuns children and lectures upon
how other women should raise their
offspring care ally avoiding failure by
having no samples to work out her
theories upon at home.
The childless home may be merely
a misfortune and thus simply sum-
mons to sympathy. Even then with so
many helpless orphans 1T need not be.
1t also may be a crime.
The Dearth Of Children.
The greatest menace before the Con-
gregational church as well as some
other churches in America is the
dearrh of children in. the homes of the
educated and we'll TO do church mem
bers There is no other menace COM
parable in its gravity to this. The sa-
loon, the labor troubles, the problem OF
the grasping rich and the rioting poor,
the racial problem, the Immigrant
problem-all are small in comparison
with this more fundamental menace.
If we can send out from good Christian
homes multitude of well born, wen
instructed and well trained Christian
youths and maidens they will solve the
problems which we hand down to them
to be solved.
1t has been said that one should be-
gin to train child by training MS
grandfather What is the use II SAID
grandfather never has any grandchll-
dren? The Christian home culture Is
the choicest educational product OF
ages Of development of the race. Here
are potentialities for making ana
moulding the finest type OF character.
The ages have laborad to produce thls
most choice of all possible means OF
fitting souls for the kingdom OF heav-
en-the Christian home. Shall 1t be
a failure like the barren fig tree in the
garden of huma nity? Whatever the
reason, be it elm attic, dletetlc, 1nous-
trial, financial, social or moral or all
of these, the dwindling Of the stock OF
the Puritans is one of the spiritual
ira gedies of the ages.
The chiId's Right.
In large percentage OF our SUNDAY
schools the majority of the children are
from Christian homes They 90
not have a Christian home training.
They come to US for an hour once a
week during few years OF chlldhooo
and then they go out from us to form
the population of our land. The child
who has been denied Christian home
has been deprived of what ought TO
be one Of his fundamental rights he
is entitled to praying father ana
praying mother who will show to his
young mind the Glorious Father ABOVE
and who will tell him of the love OF
Jesus. 1t is to be sure pity that
any one of us came to years OF memory
before he came to love Christ. IL
should not be so.
To be sure the child had a right ITO
be conceived in prayer and to be dedl-
Gated from his birth to a life OF i'm
mortal and glorious upward striving
toward God and truth. That this he1r
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