40
Child Guidance
He drew up a handful of lilies, and I looked at them. They were
all full of open channels, and the stems were gathering the properties
from the pure sands beneath, and these were being developed into
the pure and spotless lily. It refused all the debris. It refused every
unsightly thing, but there it was developed in its purity.
Now this is exactly the way that we are to educate our youth in
this world. Let their minds and hearts be instructed who God is, who
Jesus Christ is, and the sacrifice that He has made in our behalf. Let
them draw the purity, the virtue, the grace, the courtesy, the love, the
forbearance; let them draw it from the Source of all power
Lessons in Trust and Perseverance—“Ask now the beasts, and
they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee:
... and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee.” “Go to the ant;
... consider her ways.” “Behold the birds.” “Consider the ravens.”
Job
12:7, 8
;
Proverbs 6:6
;
Matthew 6:26
, American Standard Version;
Luke 12:24
.
We are not merely to tell the child about these creatures of God’s.
The animals themselves are to be his teachers. The ants teach lessons
[59]
of patient industry, of perseverance in surmounting obstacles, of prov-
idence for the future. And the birds are teachers of the sweet lesson
of trust. Our heavenly Father provides for them; but they must gather
the food, they must build their nests and rear their young. Every mo-
ment they are exposed to enemies that seek to destroy them. Yet how
cheerily they go about their work! How full of joy are their little songs!
How beautiful the psalmist’s description of God’s care for the
creatures of the woods—“The high hills are a refuge for the wild
goats; And the rocks for the conies.”
Psalm 104:18
. He sends the
springs to run among the hills, where the birds have their habitation
and “sing among the branches.”
Psalm 104:12
. All the creatures of the
woods and hills are a part of His great household. He opens His hand
and satisfies “the desire of every living thing.” [
Psalm 145:16
.
The Insects Teach Industry—The industrious bee gives to men
of intelligence an example that they would do well to imitate. These
insects observe perfect order, and no idler is allowed in the hive. They
execute their appointed work with an intelligence and activity that are
11
Manuscript 43a, 1894
.
12
Education, 117, 118
.