Days of Conflict
21
studying the Bible, or in prayer.
From these peaceful hours He would return to His home to take up
His duties again, and to give an example of patient toil. Wherever He
was, His presence seemed to bring the angels near. The influence of
His pure, holy life was felt by all classes of people.
Harmless and undefiled, He walked among the thoughtless, the
rude, the uncourteous; amid the unjust taxgatherers, the reckless prodi-
gals, the unrighteous Samaritans, the heathen soldiers, and the rough
peasants.
He spoke a word of sympathy here, and a word there, as He saw
men weary, yet compelled to bear heavy burdens. He shared their
burdens, and repeated to them the lessons He had learned from nature,
of the love, the kindness, the goodness of God.
He taught them to look upon themselves as having precious talents,
which if rightly used would gain for them eternal riches. By His own
example He taught that every moment of time is of value, and should
be put to some good use.
He passed by no human being as worthless, but tried to encourage
the roughest and most unpromising. He told them that God loved them
as His children, and that they might become like Him in character.
So in a quiet way Jesus from His very childhood worked for others.
This work none of the learned teachers, nor even His own brothers,
could make Him give up. With an earnest purpose He carried out the
design of His life, for He was to be the light of the world.
[41]