Christian or Worldly Education, Which?
By O. P. WILSON
THE greatest need of all the world to-day is men,—men who will stand by their convictions, and follow the instruction given by our Lord. His command is, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations [“make disciples of all the nations,” A. R. V.], baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” Notice that we must teach the people if we wish to make disciples of them. “To restore in man the image of his Maker, to bring him back to the perfection in which he was created, to promote the development of body, mind, and soul, that the divine purpose in his creation might be realized,—this was to be the work of redemption. This is the object of education, the great object of life.”—“Education,” pages 15, 16. Can the public schools do this?—No, they can not, and will not; so it is time for us to be doing something with regard to it. We are living right down in the end of the world,—a time that is parallel to that just before the flood; a time when men are saying, “Where is the promise of his coming?” a time when but few are going to stand the final test, as Noah and his house did in those days. O, let us awake to our duty! Let that duty be first to our families, for it is true that as the antediluvian world rejected Noah’s warning, so will this present world reject ours. What a comfort it will be to us when we can hear Jehovah say: “Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.” What an encouragement to parental fidelity! Then should we disregard our duties at this time to educate our children in the way that has been planned by the Great Teacher? If you have not already planned to send your children to our own schools, do so at once. Do not delay, “for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.”