A PLEA FOR THE CHILDREN.
By A Mother
I WANT to say a word for the children. I desire very much to see them brought into the fold of Christ. We who are parents feel a great anxiety for them; and while we are striving to teach them the way of life, trying to lead them to love and obey the Lord, we desire all the help we can get; and we feel that as our ministering brethren go from place to place, bearing the seeds of truth to “the children of larger growth,” if they would at times remember the “little ones,” with a few simple questions, put directly to them, or a few words of advice, and thus awaken an interest in their minds, it might be the means under God of their salvation. There is a wonderful difference in the minds of the young, whether they are preached to at “arm’s length,” in a general kind of a way, or whether the minister whom they look up to, and reverence, sends a kindly inquiry direct to their hearts, as to whether they are loving and obeying God or not. I well remember having my attention called to the subject of religion, when I was but a child, by questions and remarks that were made directly to me. I felt that if my salvation was a subject of interest to others, I surely should attend to it myself. I believe I then gave my heart to God; and afterwards, I sought to lead a dear young friend to the Saviour. Among other efforts that I made, I persuaded her to go with me to the minister’s house, expecting that he would converse with her, but from being pre-occupied, or from some other cause, he neglected to speak to her anything relative to the salvation of her soul. It was the turning point with her. From that time she resisted all my efforts, saying that “it was the minister’s business to try to lead the young to Christ, and if he did not think it of sufficient importance to speak of it to her, she was not going to give up all the pleasure of this world; and perhaps after all, she would be just as well off, at the last end, as any one.” The result is, she is still living a life of impenitence, devoted to this world; and I shall ever believe that, if that minister had spoken but a few words for the Saviour, directly to her, it would have been otherwise.