108
Fundamentals of Christian Education
scenes majestic and eternal. We behold Jesus, the Son of God, coming
to our world, and engaging in the mysterious conflict that discomfited
the powers of darkness. O how wonderful, how almost incredible it
is, that the infinite God would consent to the humiliation of His own
dear Son! Let every student of the Scriptures contemplate this great
fact, and he will not come from such a contemplation without being
elevated, purified, and ennobled.
The Bible is a book which discloses the principles of right and
truth. It contains whatever is needful for the saving of the soul, and at
the same time it is adapted to strengthen and discipline the mind. If
used as a textbook in our schools, it will be found far more effective
than any other book in the world, in guiding wisely in the affairs of
this life, as well as in aiding the soul up the ladder of progress which
reaches to heaven. God cares for us as intellectual beings, and He has
given us His word as a lamp to our feet and a light to our pathway.
“The entrance of Thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto
the simple.” It is not the mere reading of the word that will accomplish
the result that is designed by Heaven, but the truth revealed in the word
of God must find an entrance into the heart, if the good intended is
obtained.
[132]
The best educated in the sciences are not always the most effective
instruments for God’s use. There are many who find themselves
laid aside, and those who have had fewer advantages of obtaining
knowledge of books, taking their places, because the latter have a
knowledge of practical things that is essential to the uses of everyday
life; while those who consider themselves learned, often cease to be
learners, are self-sufficient, and above being taught, even by Jesus, who
was the greatest teacher the world ever knew. Those who have grown
and expanded, whose reasoning faculties have been improved by deep
searching of the Scriptures, that they may know the will of God, will
come into positions of usefulness; for the word of God has had an
entrance into their life and character. It must do its peculiar work,
even to the piercing asunder of the joints and marrow, and discerning
the thoughts and intents of the heart. God’s word is to become the
nourishment by which the Christian must grow strong in spirit and in
intellect, that he may battle for truth and righteousness.
Why is it that our youth, and even those of maturer years, are so
easily led into temptation and sin? It is because the word of God is