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Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students
leaves the rest of the sheep, and his whole energies are taxed to find
the one that is lost.
And then the picture—praise God!—the shepherd returns with
the sheep, carrying it in his arms, and rejoicing at every step. “Re-
joice with me,” he says, “for I have found my sheep which was lost.”
Luke 15:6
. I am so thankful that we have the picture of the sheep
found. There is no picture presented before our imagination of a
sorrowful shepherd returning without the sheep. This is the lesson
that the undershepherds are to learn—success in bringing the sheep
and lambs back to the fold.
The wisdom of God, His power, and His love are without parallel.
They are the divine guarantee that not one, even, of the straying sheep
and lambs is overlooked, not one left unsuccored. A golden chain—
the mercy and compassion of divine power—is passed around every
one of these imperiled souls.
A Wide Field
To those who are accepted as teachers in our schools is opened
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a wide field for labor and cultivation, for the sowing of the seed,
and the harvesting of the ripened grain. What should give greater
satisfaction than to educate the children and youth to love God and
keep His commandments? What should give greater joy than to
see these children and youth following Christ, the Great Shepherd?
What should shed more sunshine through the soul of the devoted
worker than to know that his patient, persevering labor in the Lord
is not in vain, to see his pupils experiencing joy in their souls for
sins forgiven, to see them receiving the impressions of the Spirit
of God in true nobility of character and in the restoration of the
moral image of God, seeking for that peace which comes from the
Prince of Peace? The truth a bondage? Yes, in one sense; for it binds
the soul in willing captivity to the Saviour, bowing the heart to the
gentleness of Christ.
* * * * *
While right principles and correct habits are of first importance
among the qualifications of the teacher, it is indispensable that he