Children and
the Future
Here are some
encouraging words for parents, especially faithful mothers.
BRINGING THE
CHILDREN TO JESUS NOW—"One
mother with her child had left her home to find Jesus. On the way she told
a neighbor her errand, and the neighbor wanted to have Jesus bless her
children. Thus several mothers came together, with their little ones. Some
of the children had passed beyond the years of infancy to childhood and
youth. When the mothers made known their desire, Jesus heard with sympathy
the timid, tearful request. But He waited to see how the disciples would
treat them. When He saw them send the mothers away, thinking to do Him a
favor, He showed them their error, saying, ‘Suffer the little children
to come unto Me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.’
He took the children in His arms, He laid His hands upon them, and gave
them the blessing for which they came.
"The mothers
were comforted. They returned to their homes strengthened and blessed by
the words of Christ. They were encouraged to take up their burden with new
cheerfulness, and to work hopefully for their children. The mothers of
today are to receive His words with the same faith. Christ is as verily a
personal Saviour today as when He lived a man among men. He is as verily
the helper of mothers today as when He gathered the little ones to His
arms in Judea. The children of our hearths are as much the purchase of His
blood as were the children of long ago.
"Jesus knows
the burden of every mother’s heart. He who had a mother that struggled
with poverty and privation sympathizes with every mother in her labors. He
who made a long journey in order to relieve the anxious heart of a
Canaanite woman will do as much for the mothers of today. He who gave back
to the widow of Nain her only son, and who in His agony upon the cross
remembered His own mother, is touched today by the mother’s sorrow. In
every grief and every need He will give comfort and help.
"Let mothers
come to Jesus with their perplexities. They will find grace sufficient to
aid them in the management of their children. The gates are open for every
mother who would lay her burdens at the Saviour’s feet. He who said, ‘Suffer
the little children to come unto Me, and forbid them not,’ still invites
the mothers to lead up their little ones to be blessed by Him. Even the
babe in its mother’s arms may dwell as under the shadow of the Almighty
through the faith of the praying mother. John the Baptist was filled with
the Holy Spirit from his birth. If we will live in communion with God, we
too may expect the divine Spirit to mold our little ones, even from their
earliest moments.
"In the
children who were brought in contact with Him, Jesus saw the men and women
who should be heirs of His grace and subjects of His kingdom, and some of
whom would become martyrs for His sake.
"He knew
that these children would listen to Him and accept Him as their Redeemer
far more readily than would grown-up people, many of whom were the
worldly-wise and hardhearted. In His teaching He came down to their level.
He, the Majesty of heaven, did not disdain to answer their questions, and
simplify His important lessons to meet their childish understanding. He
planted in their minds the seeds of truth, which in after years would
spring up, and bear fruit unto eternal life.
"It is still
true that children are the most susceptible to the teachings of the
gospel; their hearts are open to divine influences, and strong to retain
the lessons received. The little children may be Christians, having an
experience in accordance with their years. They need to be educated in
spiritual things, and parents should give them every advantage, that they
may form characters after the similitude of the character of Christ.
"Fathers and
mothers should look upon their children as younger members of the Lord’s
family, committed to them to educate for heaven. The lessons that we
ourselves learn from Christ we should give to our children, as the young
minds can receive them, little by little opening to them the beauty of the
principles of heaven. Thus the Christian home becomes a school, where the
parents serve as underteachers, while Christ Himself is the chief
instructor.
"In working
for the conversion of our children, we should not look for violent emotion
as the essential evidence of conviction of sin. Nor is it necessary to
know the exact time when they are converted. We should teach them to bring
their sins to Jesus, asking His forgiveness, and believing that He pardons
and receives them as He received the children when He was personally on
earth.
"As the
mother teaches her children to obey her because they love her, she is
teaching them the first lessons in the Christian life. The mother’s love
represents to the child the love of Christ, and the little ones who trust
and obey their mother are learning to trust and obey the Saviour."—Desire
of Ages, 511-515.
TO THEIR MOTHERS’
ARMS—"The
living righteous are changed ‘in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.’
At the voice of God they were glorified; now they are made immortal and
with the risen saints are caught up to meet their Lord in the air. Angels
‘gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven
to the other.’ Little children are borne by holy angels to their mothers’
arms. Friends long separated by death are united, nevermore to part, and
with songs of gladness ascend together to the City of God.
"On each
side of the cloudy chariot are wings, and beneath it are living wheels;
and as the chariot rolls upward, the wheels cry, ‘Holy,’ and the
wings, as they move, cry, ‘Holy,’ and the retinue of angels cry, ‘Holy,
holy, holy, Lord God Almighty.’ And the redeemed shout, ‘Alleluia!’
as the chariot moves onward toward the New Jerusalem."—Great
Controversy, 645.
COMFORTING A
MOTHER ON THE DEATH OF HER CHILD—"As
you relate your experience in the death of your child, and how you bowed
in prayer, submitting your will to the will of your heavenly Father,
leaving the matter with Him, my mother heart is touched. I have passed
through an experience similar to the experience through which you have
just passed.
"When my
eldest son was sixteen years old, he was stricken down in sickness. His
case was considered critical, and he called us to his bedside, and said,
‘Father, Mother, it will be hard for you to part with your eldest son.
If the Lord sees fit to spare my life, for your sake I will be pleased. If
it is for my good and His name’s glory for my life to close now, I will
say, It is well with my soul. Father, go by yourself, and Mother, go by
yourself and pray. Then you will receive an answer according to the will
of my Saviour, whom you love and I love.’ He was afraid that if we
should bow together, our sympathies would strengthen, and we would ask for
that which it would not be best for the Lord to grant.
"We did as
he requested, and our prayers were similar in every point to the prayers
you offered. We received no evidence that our son would recover. He died,
putting his full trust in Jesus our Saviour. His death was a great blow to
us, but it was a victory even in death; for his life was hid with Christ
in God.
"Before the
death of my eldest boy, my babe was sick unto death. We prayed, and
thought that the Lord would spare us our darling; but we closed his eyes
in death, and laid him away to rest in Jesus, until the Life-giver shall
come to awaken His precious loved ones to a glorious immortality.
"Then my
husband, the faithful servant of Jesus Christ, who had stood by my side
for thirty-six years, was taken from me, and I was left to labor alone. He
sleeps in Jesus. I have no tears to shed over his grave. But how I miss
him! How I long for his words of counsel and wisdom! How I long to hear
his prayers blending with my prayers for light and guidance, for wisdom to
know how to plan and lay out the work!
"But the
Lord has been my Counselor, and the Lord will give you grace to bear your
bereavement."—2 Selected Messages, 258-259.
MANY LITTLE ONES
WILL BE LAID AWAY— "You
inquire in regard to your little one being saved. Christ’s words are
your answer: ‘Suffer little children to come unto Me, and forbid them
not: for of such is the kingdom of God’ (Luke 18:16).
"Remember
the prophecy, ‘Thus saith the Lord; A voice was heard in Ramah,
lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rahel weeping for her children refused to
be comforted . . Thus saith the Lord; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and
thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord; and
they shall come again from the land of the enemy. And there is hope in
thine end, saith the Lord, that thy children shall come again to their own
border’ (Jer. 31:15-17).
"This
promise is yours. You may be comforted and trust in the Lord. The Lord has
often instructed me that many little ones are to be laid away before the
time of trouble. We shall see our children again. We shall meet them and
know them in the heavenly courts. Put your trust in the Lord, and be not
afraid."—Letter 196, 1899; 2 Selected Messages, 259.
WRITTEN WHEN THE
CHILD OF ELLEN WHITE’S TWIN SISTER DIED—"Our
fondest hopes are often blighted here. Our loved ones are torn from us by
death. We close their eyes and habit them for the tomb, and lay them away
from our sight. But hope bears our spirits up. We are not parted forever,
but shall meet the loved ones who sleep in Jesus. They shall come again
from the land of the enemy. The Life-giver is coming. Myriads of holy
angels escort Him on His way. He bursts the bands of death, breaks the
fetters of the tomb, the precious captives come forth in health and
immortal beauty.
"As the
little infants come forth immortal from their dusty beds, they immediately
wing their way to their mothers’ arms. They meet again nevermore to
part. But many of the little ones have no mother there. We listen in vain
for the rapturous song of triumph from the mother. The angels receive the
motherless infants and conduct them to the tree of life.
"Jesus
places the golden ring of light, the crown upon their little heads. God
grant that the dear mother of ‘Eva’ may be there, that her little
wings may be folded upon the glad bosom of her mother."—Youth’s
Instructor, April, 1858; 2 Selected Messages, 259-260.
WRITTEN TO
PARENTS WHO HAD LOST CHILDREN AT SEA—"I
have thought of you many, many times . .
"The
comforts of the Scriptures are very great; they abound in consolations to
the afflicted and bereaved, the sick and the suffering. I seem to see
Jesus saying to you, Father and Mother D, ‘Lean on Me, lean hard. I will
bear you up. My arm shall never fail you. It shall be strong to support
you over all the rough and difficult places. Only make Me your trust and
you shall be guided safely and upheld firmly.’
"Oh, the
precious Bible, its truths are full of marrow and fatness. We may consider
and rejoice in the light of the promises. They are the gracious utterances
of an infinite God. His voice is speaking to us out of His Word. I hope
you are of good courage.
"This
affliction that has come to you, you may not be able to explain.
Everything may remain in impenetrable mystery until the sea shall give up
her dead. But let not your heart bow down in sorrow, for they are the Lord’s
property and He will do what He will with His own. This we know, that His
love is greater than ours possibly can be, and Jesus so loved them that He
gave His life to redeem them; then let them rest, and let your heart go
out more decidedly after Jesus to supply every soul hunger, every want . .
"Whatever
may be your circumstances, however dark and mysterious may be the ways of
Providence, though the path may be through the deep waters, and trials and
bereavements may afflict again and again, the assurance still comes, ‘All
things work together for good to them that love God’ (Rom. 8:28). ‘I
know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that
which I have committed unto Him against that day’ (2 Tim. 1:12)."—Letter
32, 1893; 2 Selected Messages, 260-261.
TO THE LOST
PARADISE—"From
the day when the first pair turned their sorrowing steps from Eden, the
children of faith have waited the coming of the Promised One to break the
destroyer’s power and bring them again to the lost Paradise."—Great
Controversy, 299; Child Guidance, 566-567.
BEAR TRIALS WITH
PATIENCE—"Heaven
will be cheap enough if we obtain it through suffering . . As I saw what
we must be in order to inherit glory, and then saw how much Jesus had
suffered to obtain for us so rich an inheritance, I prayed that we might
be baptized into Christ’s sufferings, that we might not shrink at
trials, but bear them with patience and joy, knowing what Jesus had
suffered that we through His poverty and sufferings might be made
rich."—Early Writings, 67.
HEAVEN IS WORTH
EVERYTHING—"Heaven
is worth everything to us. We must not run any risk in this matter. We
must take no venture here. We must know that our steps are ordered by the
Lord. May God help us in the great work of overcoming. He has crowns for
those that overcome. He has white robes for the righteous. He has an
eternal world of glory for those who seek for glory, honor, and
immortality. Everyone who enters the City of God will enter it as a
conqueror. He will not enter it as a condemned criminal, but as a son of
God. And the welcome given to everyone who enters there will be, ‘Come,
ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the
foundation of the world.’ Matthew 25:34."—Christian Temperance
and Bible Hygiene, 149: Child Guidance, 567.
POWER TO
INFLUENCE OTHERS—"Now
the church is militant. Now we are confronted with a world in darkness,
almost wholly given over to idolatry. But the day is coming when the
battle will have been fought, the victory won. The will of God is to be
done on earth as it is done in heaven . . All will be a happy, united
family, clothed with the garments of praise and thanksgiving—the robe of
Christ’s righteousness. All nature, in its surpassing loveliness, will
offer to God a tribute of praise and adoration. The world will be bathed
in the light of heaven. The light of the moon will be as the light of the
sun, and the light of the sun will be sevenfold greater than it is now.
The years will move on in gladness. Over the scene the morning stars will
sing together, and the sons of God will shout for joy, while God and
Christ will unite in proclaiming, ‘There shall be no more sin, neither
shall there be any more death.’
"These
visions of future glory, scenes pictured by the hand of God, should be
dear to His children . . We need to keep ever before us this vision of
things unseen. It is thus that we shall be able to set a right value on
the things of eternity and the things of time. It is this that will give
us power to influence others for the higher life."—Ministry of
Healing, 504, 506, 508.
FAITHFULNESS HAS
UNSEALED SPRINGS OF BLESSING—"All
who have wrought with unselfish spirit will behold the fruit of their
labors. The outworking of every right principle and noble deed will be
seen. Something of this we see here. But how little of the result of the
world’s noblest work is in this life manifest to the doer! How many toil
unselfishly and unweariedly for those who pass beyond their reach and
knowledge! Parents and teachers lie down in their last sleep, their
lifework seeming to have been wrought in vain; they know not that their
faithfulness has unsealed springs of blessing that can never cease to
flow; only by faith they see the children they have trained become a
benediction and an inspiration to their fellow men, and the influence
repeat itself a thousandfold . .
"Men sow the
seed from which, above their graves, others reap blessed harvests. They
plant trees that others may eat the fruit. They are content here to know
that they have set in motion agencies for good. In the hereafter the
action and reaction of all these will be seen."—Education,
305-306.
A RELINKING OF
THE FAMILY CHAIN—"Jesus
is coming, coming with clouds and great glory. A multitude of shining
angels will attend Him. He will come to honor those who have loved Him and
kept His commandments, and to take them to Himself. He has not forgotten
them or His promise. There will be a relinking of the family chain."—Review,
November 22, 1906; Child Guidance, 565.
WATCHFULNESS OVER
THEM HAS BEEN BLESSED OF GOD—"God
has permitted light from His throne to shine all along the path of life. A
pillar of cloud by day, a pillar of fire by night, is moving before us as
before ancient Israel. It is the privilege of Christian parents today, as
it was the privilege of God’s people of old, to bring their children
with them to the Promised Land (Signs, Nov. 24, 8881).
"You want a
household for God; you want your family for God. You want to take them up
to the gates of the city and say, ‘Here am I, Lord, and the children
that Thou hast given me.’ They may be men and women that have grown to
manhood and womanhood, but they are your children all the same; and your
educating, and your watchfulness over them has been blessed of God, till
they stand as overcomers. Now you can say, ‘Here am I, Lord, and the
children (Manuscript 49, 1894).’ "—Child Guidance, 565.
JOY OF SEEING
YOUR EFFORTS REWARDED—"We
see a retinue of angels on either side of the gate; and as we pass in,
Jesus speaks, ‘Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom that
is prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’ Here He tells you
to be a partaker of His joy, and what is that? It is the joy of seeing of
the travail of your soul, fathers. It is the joy of seeing that your
efforts, mothers, are rewarded. Here are your children; the crown of life
is upon their heads, and the angels of God immortalize the names of the
mothers whose efforts have won their children to Jesus Christ."—Manuscript
12, 1895; Child Guidance, 567-568.
SHE MADE ME ALL I
AM—"When the
judgment shall sit, and the books shall be opened; when the ‘well done’
of the great Judge is pronounced, and the crown of immortal glory is
placed upon the brow of the victor, many will raise their crowns in sight
of the assembled universe and, pointing to their mother, say, ‘She made
me all I am through the grace of God. Her instruction, her prayers, have
been blessed to my eternal salvation.’ "—Messages to Young
People, 330.
WITH JOY
UNUTTERABLE, PARENTS SEE—"Another
class stand pale and trembling, trusting in Christ, and yet oppressed with
a sense of their own unworthiness. They hear with tears of joy and
gratitude the Master’s commendation. The days of incessant toil, of
burden bearing, and of fear and anguish are forgotten as that voice,
sweeter than the music of angel harps, pronounces the words, ‘Well done,
good and faithful servant, enter ye into the joy of your Lord.’ There
stand the host of the redeemed, the palm branch of victory in their hand,
the crown upon their head. These are the ones who by faithful, earnest
labor have obtained a fitness for heaven. The lifework performed on earth
is acknowledged in the heavenly courts as a work well done.
"With joy unutterable,
parents see the crown, the robe, the harp, given to their children. The
days of hope and fear are ended. The seed sown with tears and prayers may
have seemed to be sown in vain, but their harvest is reaped with joy at
last. Their children have been redeemed. Fathers, mothers, shall the
voices of your children swell the song of gladness in that day?"—Signs,
July 1, 1886; Child Guidance, 569.
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