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Education
or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord
seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance,
but the Lord looketh on the heart.” So of all the seven the testimony
was, “The Lord hath not chosen these.”
1 Samuel 16:6, 7, 10
. And not
until David had been called from the flock was the prophet permitted
to fulfill his mission.
The elder brothers, from whom Samuel would have chosen, did not
possess the qualifications that God saw to be essential in a ruler of His
people. Proud, self-centered, self-confident, they were set aside for the
one whom they lightly regarded, one who had preserved the simplicity
and sincerity of his youth, and who, while little in his own sight, could
be trained by God for the responsibilities of the kingdom. So today, in
many a child whom the parents would pass by, God sees capabilities
far above those revealed by others who are thought to possess great
promise.
And as regards life’s possibilities, who is capable of deciding what
is great and what is small? How many a worker in the lowly places
of life, by setting on foot agencies for the blessing of the world, has
achieved results that kings might envy!
Let every child, then, receive an education for the highest service.
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“In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine
hand: for thou knowest not which shall prosper, whether this or that,”
Ecclesiastes 11:6
, R.V.
The specific place appointed us in life is determined by our capa-
bilities. Not all reach the same development or do with equal efficiency
the same work. God does not expect the hyssop to attain the propor-
tions of the cedar, or the olive the height of the stately palm. But
each should aim just as high as the union of human with divine power
makes it possible for him to reach.
Many do not become what they might, because they do not put
forth the power that is in them. They do not, as they might, lay hold on
divine strength. Many are diverted from the line in which they might
reach the truest success. Seeking greater honor or a more pleasing
task, they attempt something for which they are not fitted. Many a
man whose talents are adapted for some other calling, is ambitious to
enter a profession; and he who might have been successful as a farmer,
an artisan, or a nurse, fills inadequately the position of a minister,
a lawyer, or a physician. There are others, again, who might have