The Purpose of Bible Stories by MRS. VINA SHERWOOD-ADAMS

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Tacoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Mar 4, 1915

The Purpose of Bible Stories

By MRS. VINA SHERWOOD-ADAMS

Our Little Table, and How It Solves Some Home Problems—No. 6

The Purpose of Bible Stories

MRS. VINA SHERWOOD-ADAMS

Our object in telling wee folks Bible stories is not to make staid Bible students of them,—that will be accomplished later in the school,—but to stimulate a love for Bible literature and to inculcate in their young lives the beautiful lessons of right to be found in the Scriptures.

Mothers, do not allow what I have written to deter you from telling Bible stories to your children; for Mary, the mother of Jesus; Elizabeth, the mother of John; and Jochebed, the mother of Moses, all were humble mothers. None of them had a college education, yet they all told Bible stories to their children in an effective manner. Just give attention to the result of the humble efforts of one of these mothers, Jochebed, to train her child. The story is thus told in “Patriarchs and Prophets,” page 244:—

“She kept the boy as long as she could, but was obliged to give him up when he was about twelve years old. From his humble cabin home he was taken to the royal palace, to the daughter of Pharaoh, ‘and he became her son.’ Yet even here he did not lose the impressions received in childhood. The lessons learned at his mother’s side could not be forgotten. They were a shield from the pride, the infidelity, and the vice that flourished amid the splendor of the court.

“How far-reaching in its results was the influence of that one Hebrew woman, and she an exile and a slave! The whole future life of Moses, the great mission which he fulfilled as the leader of Israel, testifies to the importance of the work of the Christian mother. There is no other work that can equal this. To a very great extent, the mother holds in her own hands the destiny of her children. She is dealing with developing minds and characters, working not alone for time, but for eternity. She is sowing seed that will spring up and bear fruit, either for good or for evil. She has not to paint a form of beauty upon canvas or to chisel it from marble, but to impress upon a human soul the image of the divine. Especially during their early years the responsibility rests upon her of forming the character of her children. The impressions now made upon their developing minds will remain with them all through life. Parents should direct the instruction and training of their children while very young, to the end that they may be Christians. They are placed in our care to be trained, not as heirs to the throne of an earthly empire, but as kings unto God, to reign through unending ages.

“Let every mother feel that her moments are priceless; her work will be tested in the solemn day of accounts. Then it will be found that many of the failures and crimes of men and women have resulted from the ignorance and neglect of those whose duty it was to guide their childish feet in the right way. Then it will be found that many who have blessed the world with the light of genius and truth and holiness, owe the principles that were the mainspring of their influence and success to a praying, Christian mother.”

I cannot give added force to these words; but, dear mothers, let us arouse to our sacred duties and happy privileges before the fleeting hours of childhood are past and we find our babies of so short a time ago in the uncertain period of adolescence, untrained to meet this restless period of youth.

I should be glad to read some helpful experiences from fathers and mothers who have been or are guiding youth through the uncertain period just mentioned.

Battle Creek, Mich.