The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1912-02-09
LESSON FOR FEBRUARY II.
THE BOY JESUS IN THE TEMPLE

The BOY JESUS IN ~ TEMPLE
LESSON TE.xT-Luke l:so-s2.
GOLDEN TExT-"How Is II that Va
sought met Visit W not that ] must Be-
AI aEM 81 S VaRsEseas' y. 10
This lesson is the n solitary In.
stance recorded In the strangely seal.
cd thirty years Of the Masters LIE.
Here 10 an illustration OF what n
meant by tho inspiration Of election
only those things that were OF vital
and rsdsmptivs Importance In the life
Of Jesus are recorded. John says.
Many other signs truly did Jesus
which are not written in this book:
But these are written. that ye might
believe that Jesus is tho Christ, the
son OF God; and that believing ys
might have life through his Name
For this reason. we should value every
word that Is written.
The lesson furnishes q model In
character building for the youth.
Jesus Is the example, and the model
boy. Jesus was q real boy. He ate.
drank, played. grew, asked questions.
Just as other boys do. He was not a
toy, or a doll-baby; he was a popu-
lar boy Tvs. 52): He had surplus en-.
ergy the same as other boys. only 1t
was directed In the right way.
His character, like all other char
acter building, was a growth: He In
creased In wisdom and stature" No
character Is instantaneous; it Is the
work OF growth and of years, indeed,
of a lifetime. An icicle is formed drop
by drop. Character Is formed by sin.
gle words and acts. A mushroom may
grow In a night, but surely not the
character of a Just as words
and sentences are formed by means
OF the single letters Of the alphabet,
so words, thoughts, deeds, actions.
looks, mo~tives--these arc the alphabet
from which We spell character. Sow
a thought, and reap a word; SOW a
word, and reap an act; SOW an act.
and reap a habit; SOW a habit, and
reap a character; SOW a character, and
reap q destiny.
Character may be developed in OBJ
security. The question was asked,
Can any good thing come out of MAJ
areth?' The greatest life that ever
lived came from this obscure village.
Lincoln came from the log cabin. No
environment is too narrow for char
acter. FIJI the little place to the full,
and tha large will be provided.
Christ's character was developed in
the home. He had a Christian home
the greatest gift Of God this side OF
heaven. What chance has many a
child today to build character In a
rome where the parents know not God,
never read the Bible, never pray, new
er go to church! II for no other rea-
son. parents should become Christians
for their children's sake. If our chill
Sren arc lost. we parents are to blame.
unless we have set before them the
example of a Christian life.
As a boy. Christ was obedient to his
parents. This was a manly thing,
Parents are In the place OF God to the
child: God cannot be everywhere, SO
he made parents. The first command
ment On the second table is obedience
to parents. and 1t Is the first com
mandment with a promise. The apron
strings of the mother may become the
Of government of the nation. We
must obey before We can command.
The character of Jesus was develop
In the church also. His parents
were churchgoers, and they had cul-
tivated that habit In the child. In
speaking of Jesus as a churchgoer.
Luke says that "as his custom was,
he went into the synagogue" What
great thoughts must have come to the
mind OF Christ as he visited the tenn
pie! What dormant potentialities were
aroused as he sat and listened to the
exposition of Gods word! Humanity
speaking, Christ owed a great deal In
the development Of his character to
his attendance at the temple. Can a
character be produced
Of the church and religion?
We think not; certainly the best char
acter cannot be produced In one who
these, In spite of all her fall
lres, the church is the best institution
n the world today for the building OF
character. We do our children a great
wrong when we deprive them OF the
privileges Of the church.
But Jesus was also a member OF the
Bible school--the teaching part Of the
,hurch. This is evident from the fact
mat the instruction received was In
he form OF catechization--he was an
'werfng and asking questions. No
iouot many of the scripture passages
10 often quoted by him in after years
we're learned in the Jewish Bible
chool.
Inc boy Jesus was an interested
IS well as an interesting scholar In
school, He was no mere visitor.
te came with a well prepared lesson.
nd that indicated that he had studied
lesson at home under the instruc-
Of Ills parents. What a lesson for
arents today!
Have you ever considered how many
and noble men the Sunday
chool OF our land have been instru-
lental in producing! Die ou eyer
hink how many OF the most influen-