Chats with Children or Pearls for Young People Strung from the Word of Truth

New original cover art included with this eBook is granted to the public domain.

Bishop Taylor Smith, the Evangelical
British Chaplain-General, said:
"Miss LE FEUVRE'S books need no introduction,
they are always INSPIRING."

CHAT I. Photo: Wallace, Sidmouth. "A Lovely Old Garden."

Frontispiece.

Chats with

Children

      "Man looketh on the
      outward appearance,
      but the Lord looketh
      on the heart."
                 (1 Samuel 16.7)

CHAT I

"Man looketh on the outward appearance,
but the Lord looketh on the heart."
(1 Samuel 16.7)

OUTSIDE and inside. How different they are! I remember a very ugly looking house, which I used to love as a little girl. It faced the street, with straight rows of windows, bare and square, and not a creeper or flower to be seen. But inside, what a delicious comfortable house it was! And a lovely old garden behind, hidden and surrounded by high walls. All the flowers, all the beautiful china and pictures, and pretty old-fashioned furniture were to be seen after you entered it, and not before. I have seen many pretty looking houses since, some quite charming with their gabled windows and creeper clad walls, yet some of them inside, are damp and ugly and uncomfortable.

When you go to a bookseller's to choose yourself a book do you choose it for its cover, or for the story inside? Some of the dryest dullest books have the most handsome binding, and some of the most thrilling stories are wrapped up in a very poor cover.

Which do you value most, the envelope, or the letter inside? Your purse, or the money that is in it? Do you like best the shell of a nut, or the kernel inside? Which is most important, the case of a clock or watch, or the works inside? Do you like the outside of your chocolate box best, or the chocolates inside?

Outside and inside! Nearly always the inside of a thing is the thing that matters. The outside is a mere case or covering for the treasure within.

So it is with us. We are so apt to judge people by the outside look of them. It is one of the pathetic facts in life, that pretty children, and beautiful girls, and handsome boys, get most love from the world around them. And yet their souls inside may not be nearly so beautiful as plain featured children. A crooked body may contain a lovely soul. A lovely body may contain a crooked and distorted soul. Outside and inside—how different they may be. Our verse says:

I want you to sit still for a few minutes and think about this. You have your outside, and your inside. Your body and your soul. Your body is simply a case for your soul, to be the means of moving and thinking and talking and acting as your soul desires. I am not going to confuse you by talking about your mind, or intellect, or spirit. We are composed of soul and body. Our souls are the only part of us that matters, for they can never die; our body may wear out, and die, drop away from us like an old garment, but our souls live on. They are the living part of us that God loves and guards, that He sent His only Son to die for, because He wanted them in Heaven above.

A great many people care for your body. Your parents rightly try to keep it in health. They send for a doctor if your body is hurt or ill. They feed it, and buy clothes for it. Nearly all the shops in a big town are selling things for your body. It needs a lot of things to keep it well. Food and drink, fires in winter, a soft bed at night for its rest and refreshment. Shelter from storm, shade from great heat.

Some of us take the greatest care of our bodies, but never, never think of the welfare of our souls. Now in these little chats with you, I want to get at your souls, to the inside thinking, loving part of you, to the bit of you that ought to be touching God and living with Him, whilst your bodies are running about and enjoying this beautiful earth.

God thinks most about your souls, or hearts, as they are often called in the Bible.

You are taught to take care of your body, to feed it, to clothe it, not to do things which might hurt it. Your parents want your body to grow bigger and stronger every year.

Now it may be comparatively easy to take care of our bodies, but it is quite impossible for us to take care of our souls. There is only One Person who made them, and who knows just what they want, and has the right food to give them. This Person you know is God.

We are told that when our bodies die, our spirits or souls return to God who gave them to us. They belong to God. He is the only One who can keep them safely, and make them grow strong and beautiful. We may not all have beautiful bodies, but we can all have beautiful souls, if we hand them over to God to keep.

The Devil wants to get possession of your souls to destroy them. He tries to keep us away from God because he knows that our souls will thrive and blossom into beauty, and be kept in perfect safety if we hand them over to God.

He surrounds us with boys and girls who never think about their souls at all, and they persuade us that saying prayers and reading the Bible, and going to Church or Chapel, is all very dull and stupid. We must have a jolly time, and enjoy ourselves, and whatever we do, must never turn "pi," or be a prig.

Then lessons, and games, and treats all follow each other so quickly that we feel we haven't time to think about God.

We are too busy, too occupied, too full of interesting plans and purposes to think about our souls. The Devil takes care to keep us busy. What can we do? Only one thing. Come straight to the Lord Jesus Christ, kneel down in any quiet corner, ask Him when we go to bed at night, and when we get up in the morning to take our soul into His loving keeping.

He will do the rest. He will remind us just in time before we are going to give way to temper, before we're going to tell a lie; He will give us courage to stand up for the right, and to refuse to join in any wrong doing, and He will give us sunshine and happiness in our souls.

God has loved our souls so much that He sent Christ to save them from the Devil's hold and power. He will wash them in His precious Blood and hold them in His keeping till He calls them to the golden Unseen Land above.

"For we are His workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus
unto good works, which
God hath before ordained
that we should walk in them."
(Ephesians 2.10)

CHAT II

           "For we are His workmanship, created
            in Christ Jesus unto good works, which
            God hath before ordained that we should
            walk in them."
(Ephesians 2.10)

HAVE you ever made anything? I am sure you have. It may have only been a paper boat, or a doll's frock, but you were very proud of it at the time. Perhaps one of you may have made a real toy boat and taken it down to the pond to sail it. How anxious you were to see if it was a success or a failure! How pleased you were when some grown up person took it into his hand and looked at it, and said, "It does you credit!" Think how busy people are, all over the world, making things—watches, clocks, motors, aeroplanes, guns, books, pictures, machines of all sorts and sizes.

If you talk to them, you will soon find that they are all anxious about one thing, and that is for their work and invention to be a success, to fulfil the purpose for which they made it. They want their watches and clocks to keep good time, their motors and air machines to move swiftly and easily, and not to be failures. They don't want their inventions to lie useless and idle, and what is the good of them if they do that?

Almighty God has made this world and all the wonderful and beautiful things in it, but of all the things that He has made, the most precious in His sight is a human soul. There are a great many of us. Some are black, some are white, some are born in rich circumstances, some in poverty.

Some are strong. Some are weak. But we are all His workmanship, and He made us—each one of us for a purpose.

This is quite certain. God put you in this world to carry out some work for Him. He made you for it. And He wants you to be a success and not a failure; He wants you to bring Him credit. As the Bible says, you were created for His glory. Have you brought God any glory by your life? Do people want to follow Christ because of you?

Have you a garden? And have you any fruit trees in it? If so, in the autumn you will expect fruit from them. A gardener once said to a lady who was walking round the garden of which he had charge:

"I always have success with my plants. I never keep anything that does not bring me credit. If plants don't flower as they ought, I pitch them away; if my apples won't bear, I root them up."

Ah! How good, and patient, and long-suffering is our Heavenly Father with His plants and fruit trees! What fruit are you bearing for Him? What sweet scented flowers are blossoming on your stalk? Have you been a failure or a success in His garden?

Think of it when you are quarrelling and stamping with rage, when you're sulking, when you're telling untruths, and doing things in secret which you know you ought not to do.

God's workmanship! Did He make me for this? I am not bringing Him credit. I am bringing dishonour upon my Maker. I am like a watch that won't keep time, that is useless, that is no good to anyone.

There were the "lamps without oil," the lamps that gave no light to the Virgins who held them.

There are boys and girls now running about and enjoying themselves. Having a good time, and only thinking of pleasing themselves.

They are fruit trees in God's garden. Yet so far they have never brought Him fruit, though He comes again and again so patiently and lovingly, to see if there is any sign or beginning of fruit bearing.

They are lamps made to shine for their Master, but no light comes from them. They are useless.

They are wanted to be watchmen for God, looking out for the coming of their Master, telling others about Him and warning them of danger when it comes. But they see nothing. They are blind.

They are wells. Made by God to contain the Water of Life, and to be the means of refreshing and watering others. But they are dry and empty, or filled with rubbish, choked with refuse—and not a drop of water in them.

"Well," you say, "I can't help myself. It comes natural to me. I can't be good."

I heard a preacher once say that at the Judgment Day when we shall all have to appear before our Maker, it may be that a picture will be held up before us, a picture of what God meant us to be when He made us and put us in this world. And as we look upon it, and think of what we might have been, and what we have been, we shall be filled with horror, and regret, and remorse. The contrast will condemn us so utterly!

If a watch or machine goes wrong, the best thing is to take it back to its maker. He will put it right, even if he has to make it over again.

Dear boys and girls, if you take yourself back to your Maker, and put yourselves in His hands to be made what He wants you to be, He will do it.

The fact is, we were never meant to live a single day in this world without God helping and holding us. The Lord Jesus Christ came to die for our sins, but He also came to show us how to live in this world with God holding our hands.

Kneel down in some quiet corner by yourself, and ask God to take your soul into His keeping and never let you go. You don't know what a difference it will make in your life. You will not be less happy, but much more happy. And He will be able to teach you and show you your work day by day.

And if you do it, you will bring glory instead of dishonour upon the One who made you.

"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."

   "I am the way . . . no man
   cometh unto the Father,
   but by Me."
                    (John 14.6)

CHAT III

JUST suppose one day that you were out for a walk, and you suddenly came upon a road you had never noticed before, and which had a sign-post at the corner of it saying:

"I've been trying to get there all my life, but it's so difficult to find the way to it. And now here it is at last."

"I should like to feel I was on the way there, but I don't want to arrive there just yet. I mean to get there at last."

I don't think there is a single boy or girl in the world who would not like to feel certain that when they died, they would go to Heaven.

But if we want to get there when we die, we must start going along the road to it while we are alive.

Little children like it, because it sounds like a happy fairyland to them. Nobody to hurt them or quarrel with them, no darkness, lovely music, white robes, rivers and fruit trees, paths of gold. Nothing to be afraid of, no sickness, no pain, every one full of joy and happiness, lots of little angel children to play with. Who would not like to be there?

When you grow older you will still like to think of such a beautiful Heaven, but you will want to go there to meet your old friends, your parents, your brothers and sisters who have gone before you, and above all, you will want to meet your Saviour whom you have learnt to love.

Boys and girls are much nearer the Road when they are small, than when they get bigger.

Just before the Lord Jesus died He told His disciples He was going away from them to prepare a Place for them in God's House which is Heaven. He said: "You know where I am going, and you know the Way."

So if the Lord Jesus is the Door into Heaven, and if He is the Way to Heaven, we have got to find Him, and He will take us safely into His Father's House.

I met a tiny boy once trotting along a busy street. He had no hat on, and was only about three years old. Suddenly a big dog sprang playfully on him. He screamed in terror and fled. I took him up in my arms, and he put his little arms round my neck and clung tightly to me.

But he couldn't tell me where his home was, and I did not know. I put him down on the path again, when the dog was out of sight, hoping he would trot in the right direction. I asked several people if they knew him. No one did. I walked up one road with him and then another; and was afraid I would have to take him to the Police Station, when suddenly a young woman met us. She had come from his home, and was looking everywhere for him. I gave him into her charge, and he went away quite happily. I had tried to help him, but I was unable to do so. I could only hand him over to the one who knew the way.

The Lord Jesus Christ is always looking for boys and girls. They may ask grown up people, teachers, and preachers to help them, but they cannot take them to Heaven, they can only hand them over, as I did, to the One who is looking for them.

Jesus Christ is close to you. He came down to this world to be the Door from earth to Heaven. He died to open that Door wide to every one who comes to Him and trusts Him.

Will you come to Him to-day just as you are, and ask Him to take you by the hand and never leave go of you till you have arrived inside Heaven? He will do it. He has said: "Those that seek Me early shall find Me." "No man cometh unto the Father, but by Me."

Have you ever read the "Pilgrim's Progress?" Do you remember how safe Christiana and her children were when they had Mr. Greatheart walking in front of them to defend them from all dangers, and keep them in the right path to the Golden City?

I always felt so sorry for Christian because he had no Mr. Greatheart. We all have our Mr. Greatheart. It is the Lord Jesus Himself. He goes before us and leads us by the hand. It will be easy walking with Him. We shall be happy and safe. Oh, dear boys and girls, do come to Him; do take Him for your Mr. Greatheart. Do trust yourselves body and soul into His loving keeping.

Then you may be sure that you have found the Way to Heaven, and are walking in it.

      "Behold, I stand at the
      door, and knock: if any
      man hear My voice and
      open the door, I will
      come in to him, and
      will sup with him, and
      he with Me."
                 (Rev. 3.20)

CHAT IV

                 "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock:
                 if any man hear My voice and open the door,
                 I will come in to him, and will sup with
                  him, and he with Me."
(Rev. 3.20)

LET us think now for a short time about something that you see and use every day, that sometimes brings safety, and sometimes danger, and that divides one from the other. Can you guess? You have a good many of them in your house, and you are moving them all day long. We are going to talk about a door.

How impossible it is to open a door and walk in, if it is locked and bolted against us! Open doors take us into delightful places, but they can also take us into prison. What important parts of a house they are! How safe you feel in bed at night knowing that all the house doors are shut and fastened inside!

A door is sometimes a man's salvation. Here is a man fleeing for his life! He is unarmed and defenceless, another man is pursuing him sword in hand. He means to kill him. The frightened man comes to his house, he dashes in at his door. He draws the stout bolt and locks it. His enemy is outside. He breathes freely.

We are glad we have a door to shut out our enemies, but do we ever shut out our friends?

There was an old woman who lived in a little cottage in Scotland, not very far from Balmoral, the Castle that belongs to our Kings and Queens.

When Queen Victoria was alive, she was very fond of visiting some of the old people who lived near her. One afternoon this old woman sat in her cottage alone. She was in a very bad temper. She had quarrelled with her nearest neighbour, and because some of her friends had been gossiping about her, she shut her door and locked it, saying viciously to herself:

"Ay, I'll keep myself to myself in future. I won't let 'em in when they come to try and get a dish o' tea out o' me."

"Knock awa' till doomsday," she called out in a angry voice. "I'll not let ye in!"

But she did not smile the next day when she was told that her Queen had stood outside her door, and knocked for admission, and she had refused to let her in.

There was a poor man in Liverpool who could not pay his rent. He lived in a little house by himself, and was in great trouble lest his landlord should turn him out. One day he heard a knock at his door, and thinking it was his landlord, he locked the door and slipped out into his back garden, hoping people would think he was out.

The knocking went on for some time, then ceased, and the man crept back into his house by and by, and thought he had been very clever in escaping his landlord. But in a few days the landlord sent the bailiffs in to sell him up, and then too late, he heard that a rich friend had come to see him a few days before on his way to America. It was he who had knocked, and had been shut out, and the poor man knew that he would have given him the money for his rent, if he had opened the door.

Now, we have each of us a little house of our own inside us, with a door which we can open or shut at our will. It is the door of our heart. We let in a good many visitors who spoil our house for us, and stain it with sin. Temper, envy, pride, cowardice, selfishness, and deceit all work havoc in our hearts, but there is one Royal Visitor who comes and knocks and pleads with us to let Him in.

"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me."

It is the Voice of Jesus. Have you ever heard it? He comes to every boy and girl, for He loves them all. He wants you to know Him and love Him, and if He seems a stranger to you now, He will not be a stranger long if you open the door of your heart to Him. He will cleanse your heart whiter than snow if you let Him in. He will help you to guard the door against your enemies, and all those wicked spirits who are trying to spoil your happiness and life.

"I'm expecting a visitor soon. It's my mother from the country. My husband always likes to see her, for she brings us such a lot of presents when she comes. She has a farm, and she brings us butter and eggs, and chickens."

"Oh, yes; but not for what she brings. She's my mother, you see, and I dearly love her!"

Now, children, the Lord Jesus Christ brings presents with Him when He comes into your heart. He brings pardon for your past sins, peace, and joy, and power to fight your enemies and overcome them. Will you remember those three presents all beginning with a "P":

They will last you all your life, and as you grow older, you will value them all the more.

But I think you will soon learn to love the Lord Jesus for Himself, and not for what He brings you. He wants your love. And, remember, He has loved you all your life long, and He wants to live with you down here in your heart, guiding you, teaching you, and helping you in all your troubles and difficulties every day. Open your door to your best Friend, invite Him to come in and make your heart His dwelling place.

"Thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy, I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit."

"Oh Jesu, Thou art standing
   Outside the fast closed door;
In lowly patience waiting
   To pass the threshold o'er.

"Oh Jesu, Thou art pleading
   In accents meek and low,
'I died for you, My children,
   And will ye treat Me so?'

"Oh Lord, with shame and sorrow
   We open now the door:
Dear Saviour, enter, enter,
   And leave us nevermore."

CHAT V

It may be cutting up his food with a knife and fork; it may be washing his face and hands, or any other simple thing. When he gets older he thinks, he can do bigger things on his own, without anyone's help at all. And very often experience teaches him that he is not so clever as he thinks himself to be.

Now all Christian boys and girls have a great many difficulties and temptations in their lives.

They make many resolves to be good, they want to be good. They mean to start the day well, but somehow before they know it, their tempers have got the better of them, and the day is clouded by tears and passion.

One of the reasons that the Lord Jesus came down from Heaven and lived amongst people on the earth, was to show them how He wanted to help them on their way to Heaven. He told His disciples just before He went back to Heaven:

Have you ever watched trains coming and going in a railway station? Sometimes there is a long line of carriages, but no engine. Can those carriages move along the rails by themselves? No; they may be perfectly ready for passengers; the lights in them may be bright, the passengers may get in and take their places, but without the engine, they can do nothing. The engine comes along, there may be only one link joined to it, and the whole train, carrying hundreds of passengers with their luggage, will move along the line without any effort. Swiftly, easily it glides along.

Now take the engine. Can it move itself? Not without the steam power within. If there is no steam, there is no movement. The wheels of the engine cannot move themselves. Without the steam, the engine can do nothing.

Have you seen great guns being fired? What sends the great shells flying through the air for miles and miles? Can they make themselves go? No, it is just a spark that ignites the powder. Without that spark the shells, the guns can do nothing.

So we, capable as we may think ourselves, can do nothing unless we are linked on—or are in touch with—our Lord and Master. "Without Me ye can do nothing."

Just think hard a minute. Sometimes you get up in the morning and you feel good! You say to yourself: "f shan't lose my temper to-day," or, "I shall do nothing to be scolded about."

And almost before you know it, you have given way to temper, or you have got into disgrace for doing something wrong. How was it? You can't explain it. "I forget," you say. Who can remind you just in time? The One who offers to help you all day long.

Imagine a big battle about to take place, and the soldiers going into it without any officer or general to tell them what to do. Would those soldiers get the victory over well ordered troops coming against them? No—never. And you will never get the victory over your enemies unless your Captain is leading you, and you do what He tells you. "Without Me ye can do nothing."

You must remember that the Devil with his hosts of wicked spirits are out to try to get you to sin every day and all day. What chance have you against the Devil? None at all, without your Captain's strong loving Hand holding yours, and helping you to fight.

A little boy was bullied by a big boy. He tried to stand up to him, but was knocked down at once. And then he caught sight of his father walking down the street. In an instant, he picked himself up and darted to his father's side.

Then the little fellow called to the bully to come on. "I'm ready for you now," he said; "I'll beat you easy!"

He was secure and safe in his father's hold, and he feared nobody, and nothing. That is how we can feel when Jesus is holding us by the hand. Will He do it? This is what He says in His Word:

"I the Lord have called them in righteousness, and will hold their hand, and will keep them."

It was just before His death, that He told His disciples this truth. He told them that He was like a vine, and they were like the branches, but that just as branches cannot bear grapes if they are cut away from the vine, so they could not bear fruit in their lives unless they were joined to Him.

What a wonderful thing! Can a boy and girl be joined to Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords?

Yes, if they open their hearts' door to Him, He has promised to come in and abide with them, and then He will help them to bear fruit.

Then keep close to Jesus and ask Him to fill your heart with the sunshine of His presence. For:

David might have had his sling and stones, but they would have been useless unless he had had God with him when he went to meet him. He told Saul that God had helped him to kill a lion and a bear, and that He would deliver him out of the hand of the giant.

It locks the door against all our own efforts and struggles. And the key that unlocks it is:

A sailor lad gave his heart to Christ one Sunday evening after a mission service had been held. The minister talked to him afterwards, and found out that he had a very bad home in the East End of London, and was going home to spend the rest of his leave there.

"I don't know how I shall do it!" the poor boy said. "My mother drinks and is hardly ever sober; my father and brother hate religion of any sort, and have half killed a mission preacher when he was down our way. How can I stand up against them?"

"But," said the minister quickly, "if the Almighty has you by the hand and goes home with you, won't you be stronger than they?"

He went home, and he was the means of bringing all his family into the Kingdom of God. It was not he. It was God with him that did it.

You'll be afraid of nobody and of nothing if you have God holding you by the hand.

      "The gift of God is
      eternal life through
      Jesus Christ our Lord."
                 (Romans 6.23)

CHAT VI

DON'T you like getting presents? I do. Birthdays and Christmas are always enjoyable times. We love receiving surprise presents. I remember visiting a house in the country once, and a little boy and girl of the house came into my room when my luggage was being unpacked, and eyed everything being taken out of my bag and boxes with the greatest interest. At last they could keep silent no longer.

I was filled with confusion, for I had brought them nothing. I had not known of their existence. Their expectations were disappointed.

Another little boy of my acquaintance came to lunch with me one day. His mother was with him, and I think had talked to him beforehand about being on his best behaviour. I had got a toy for him to amuse himself with, and he had a very good time after lunch playing with it.

When he was going away, I told him he could take it with him. "I'll make you a present of it," I said.

To my surprise, he put his hands behind his back, and said, "Oh, no, thank you."

I fancy he was trying to be extra good. He thought it was not good manners to take a present away.

But we often act like that with God. And it is such a pity, for we lose so much by not stretching out our hands to take what He offers us.

We may have a present offered us, but if we won't put out our hands to take it, what is the good of it to us? And how ungrateful to the kind giver!

Sometimes people get unsuitable presents. I heard of a little girl who bought a tiny doll's tea-set, and gave it to her mother as a birthday present.

And a scholarly old bachelor uncle gave his little nephew on his seventh birthday a Latin book, "Virgil's Aeneid."

Now God knows exactly what we want, and He gives us everything suitable to our age and circumstances. But there is one gift that is wanted by everybody, big and small, rich and poor. Many of the gifts we get in this world, wear out, and come to an end; this one cannot come to an end. And it is the gift that God likes to give us.

Some presents cost a lot of money. This one cost Somebody His life to get, and that makes it the most valuable gift in the whole world.

In the time of slavery, there was an old negro woman who had a son whom she loved very dearly. She and he lived and worked on a sugar plantation in the West Indies, for they were both slaves. But at that time some of the slave owners would allow their slaves to purchase their freedom, and though it cost them a great deal of money, some freed themselves in this way. It was this old woman's one desire in life to work overtime, save her money, and free her son from bondage.

She did not tell him what she was doing but she worked when he was asleep—and never took any rest or holiday herself. The consequence was, she ruined her health, and after many years of this dreadfully hard laborious life, she broke down, and had to take to her bed. But by that time she had earned the money to buy the freedom of her son. She called him one night to her dying bed, and produced a canvas bag.

"Here," she said, "is money to set you free, my son. You will never be a slave any more. I have worked all my life to get it, and now I have got the money, I die in peace."

She died in her son's arms—and he felt that his freedom had cost his mother her life.

Now the gift that God offers to us all cost the Lord Jesus Christ His life, and it is only through Him—or because of Him that we can get it.

Is not Eternal Life a tremendous gift to be offered to us? Yet we can all have it. Every one of us—great and small—rich and poor. And if we know we have it, death will not make us afraid. Our souls cannot die. Eternal life with our Saviour in Heaven. That Land of Happiness which is too glorious to be described. Who would not stretch out their hands for such a gift?

But it needs empty hands to take it. We must let everything else go, and we must take the Lord Jesus Christ for our own Saviour. It is only for His sake, and through Him, that God gives us this gift.

Take it from Him now. Thank Him with all your hearts for giving it to you, and serve Him and love Him for the rest of your lives. That is how you can show your gratitude for such a gift as this.

If you were drowning, and were offered a pony, or a purse, or a house, or a bag of gold, would you be glad of such gifts? "No," you would cry; "it's my life I want. Save me."

God's Great Gift of Eternal Life will be what we shall want then, and if we have refused to take it all our life from His hands, how do we know that we shall receive it from Him then? God will not offer His gift for ever. It is insulting His love and goodness to refuse to take it, to despise it, to be indifferent to it now. Stretch out your hand, lay hold of Eternal Life! And you will thank God for ever and ever for His wonderful Gift.

      "Be ye therefore ready
      also, for the Son of
      Man cometh at an hour
      when ye think not."
                 (Luke 12.40)

CHAT VII

                 "Be ye therefore ready also, for the Son
                  of Man cometh at an hour when ye think
                  not."
(Luke 12.40)

We don't like unpunctual people. Some children are always late for meals and late for school. But we lose pleasure sometimes by being late. By not being ready. Suppose a rich uncle comes to take you out for the day. He is going to take you into the country by a certain train. You are not ready when he comes for you, you lose the train, and he is so angry that he says he won't take you out at all. You lost your treat by not being ready for it.

But "ready" does not only mean being in time. If a grown up girl was going to be presented at the King and Queen's Court, she might be at the Palace in time, but if she were not suitably dressed, if she had not troubled to put on a court dress, she would not be "ready" for the presentation.

Do you remember a story in the Bible like this? There was a man who went to a palace at the King's invitation and sat down to feast with him in his common soiled working clothes. He had been offered a suitable party suit of clothes before he went into the Palace, but he refused them, and he was sent away from the banquet, and turned away in disgrace.

There are lots of stories about people coming to grief by not being ready, though they were warned beforehand.

The trouble is with most of us, that we put off getting ready till too late. It is no good to wait to get ready till the time comes. If people move from one house to another, they pack up and prepare for weeks beforehand. If you are going a journey, you don't wait to pack your box till the car is at the door. Now, our Lord warns us that one day He is returning to this world. He will surely come; but He will come when people are not expecting Him. And then in a moment, every one in the world will be separated from one another. Those that are ready will meet Him and be happy with Him for ever; those that are not ready will be sent away in disgrace and misery.

Do you remember the story of the wise and foolish Virgins. Only those who were ready went inside the bridegroom's house, the others were shut outside. When the flood came suddenly, only those who were ready went into the Ark with Noah and were saved. When Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed, only those who were ready to leave it escaped with their lives. And our Lord tells us the story of some servants who were left in charge of their master's house whilst he was away. The master comes back suddenly, and finds some of his servants not ready to meet him. They had been enjoying themselves and not taking care of his house. They had nothing ready for their master's return.

Jesus reminds us that He has gone away for a time, but He is really and truly coming back, and by the signs in the world, His Return is very near. Are you ready to meet Him? If He came to-day, this evening just after dark, would you be found ready?

A soldier is shot if he is on sentry duty and found sleeping at his post. Are you awake? Are you serving your absent Master as you would do if He were close to you watching all that you do or say?

Perhaps you have never tried to serve your absent master. Perhaps you say: "I don't think I am His servant at all."

It will be very sad and dreadful for you if the Lord comes back to this world before you have begun to serve Him. You are indeed not ready for His return. Won't you think about this very seriously, and determine to get "ready" as soon as you can? How can you do this?

By giving your heart to Jesus, by asking Him to forgive you all your sins, and make you His faithful and true little servant.

He will make you His young servant, and He will help you to serve Him truly and faithfully every day till He comes.

      "There standeth One
      among you, Whom ye
      know not."
                 (John 1.26)

CHAT VIII

SOME little time ago our popular Prince of Wales was at a Race Meeting in America, where he was almost mobbed by a rude and curious crowd. Cameras surrounded him, and at last, out of patience with the mob, he moved away, and after a time got amongst some grooms and jockeys lower down the course, where he was not recognised, and where he enjoyed a quiet time. The men with whom he talked in such a friendly fashion had little idea that they were talking to the heir of the English Throne.

Now, in the world to-day, in many an English home, One much higher and more wonderful than a British Prince "stands amongst" the boys and girls in that home, and "they know Him not."

Waiting to be known. Waiting to be loved. Waiting to be served. He knows them. He loves them. He has served them even to laying down His life for them. All has been done that can be on His side to win their love and allegiance. Nothing, so far, has been done on their side.

It is not enough to know of their existence. We all know that we have a king, we hear about him, but we do not know him as our friend.

Can we know anyone if we do not see them? I think so. A little girl's father is in India, but her mother is always talking to her about him; she reads bits of his letters to her, and tells her stories of what he used to do and say when she was a tiny baby. By and by the father begins to write to his little girl, and she writes to him. She tells him all she does, and what she likes, and what she dislikes. He tells her what he is doing, and gives her advice when she wants it.

Somebody asks the girl: "Will you be shy of your father? Won't he be a stranger to you?"

"Oh, no," she says; "he and I are great chums; we've always written to each other. I love his letters, and I love him."

Now this is how we should feel about the Lord Jesus Christ. When He comes back to this world, He should be no stranger to us. We have had His letters. We can read all His beautiful words to us in the New Testament. We can do more than that little girl, we can talk to Him, instead of writing. For He stands close to us always, and He hears our faintest whisper.

Peter the Great, who ruled over Russia, was very fond of disguising himself and going amongst his peasants, and seeing their poverty, noticing who was most worthy of relief. He always won their confidence, but on one occasion a man who was out of work and wanting employment, was very rude to him.

"Go away," he said. "You are poor like ourselves, your clothes show that; we don't want your pity or your comfort. We want money and nothing else. You're no good to us at all."

We can't admire a man like that, but our Lord stands amongst us to help the needy, to strengthen the weak, to comfort the sorrowful.

"Oh," you say, "I have all I want. I'm not very poor, and I'm not sad, and I'm having a pretty good time just now."

Let me tell you that when He comes back again to this world He will either be your Judge or your Friend and Saviour. Which would you like best?

If you have refused to know Him down here, when He opens the gates of Paradise, the Golden City, and you press forward with the others who are going in, He will look upon you sorrowfully, and will say:

How sad! Why not now come to Him and belong to Him? Remember, He bought you with His precious blood. He knows it is difficult to be always good. He has been a boy himself, and knows how boys get tempted. And He stands close to you, ready to help you fight your battles over your besetting sins, longing to fill your young hearts with joy and happiness, wanting to show you that a life in His service is a hundred times happier than one lived in the service of the Devil, who wants to destroy your soul.

Here is another thought for you. You don't make friends of a stranger in a moment, but you can fall in love at sight, and then the more you talk with a person, the oftener you see them, the better you know them.

You have heard of our Lord Jesus Christ, you have read about Him, but if you really want to know Him and take Him as your best Friend, you must come to Him, pray to Him, and talk to Him often; you must read what He says in His Word, and you must try and carry out His wishes every day of your life.

You cannot help loving Him when you remember that He has died for you, when you realise that He will never leave you nor fail you as long as you need His help.

       "An inheritance incorruptible,
       and undefiled, and that fadeth
       not away, reserved in Heaven
       for you."
                 (1 Peter 1.4)

CHAT IX

                 "An inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled,
                  and that fadeth not away, reserved in
                  Heaven for you."
(1 Peter 1.4)

WHAT is an heir? A man or boy who comes into possession of a big house, or money, or property when the owner of it dies. Have you ever read a story called "Little Lord Fauntleroy?" It is about a little boy in America who came over to England and found out he was heir to an Earldom. His inheritance was a very big one.

Sometimes quite poor men suddenly come into an inheritance, for which they are utterly unfitted. I remember a story of a tramp doing this. And when he was placed in the big house which was part of his inheritance, he was miserable.

At last he came to his lawyer and said: "Look here, I'm an uneducated man, and I'm only happy amongst my own kind. The servants wait on me, but they despise and laugh at me. I sit in a library full of books—I can't understand one of them, and I'm not a reader. There's a place they call an observatory, where you're supposed to study the stars. I can't use it, for I'm ignorant of it all. There's a music room, but what is the good of piano or organ to me, when I can't play a note. There's a museum and a picture gallery. I don't care for either. I haven't been educated enough to understand them. And the big people round who come to call on me, terrify me. We haven't a thought in common. You'll have to sell the house and property, and give me the money. I'll spend it in drink and food amongst my friends."

Poor man! Don't you feel sorry for him? He wasn't able to enjoy what belonged to him, for he had not been trained in the right way.

Now, boys and girls who love the Lord Jesus are all heirs to an inheritance. What does the Bible say?

That through Jesus, who died to get it for us, we have "an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in Heaven for you."

We can't all look forward to coming into an inheritance on earth, but we can look forward to one in Heaven. It is being reserved or kept for us there. Now, if we aren't prepared in this life for that inheritance, we shall be like that poor tramp: we shall be very miserable when we get there. And that is just why God sent us into this world of trouble, and pain, and difficulty, to train us and teach us and prepare us for our inheritance.

When the old Queen Victoria, one of the best queens that has ever ruled over the British Empire, was a little girl, she was trained in every way by her mother and governesses for her inheritance. And when she was told that she might become the queen one day, she clasped her little hands and cried, "I will be good! I will be good!"

All Royal children are brought up much more strictly than you are, for they must be educated and trained for their future inheritance. They learn when quite small to please others before themselves, to put duty before pleasure, to get up early to do their lessons, to study the feelings of others, to control their tempers, and only to associate with companions chosen by their parents or teachers.

An heir to a glorious inheritance must be prepared for years for it. And God wants to prepare us for our glorious inheritance.

If we have been to Jesus to have our sins washed away, if we have held out our hands for the pardon He purchased for us on Calvary and thanked Him for it, if we are trying to serve Him day by day, then we can be sure that the inheritance will be ours. But we must ask God to train us, and when disagreeable things happen, we must not lose our temper, for they are sent to test our tempers, to make us control ourselves, and so to make us more fit for our inheritance by and by.

Boys and girls are often sent away to school, but one day they will have finished their education, and then they will come home to their father's house, and be able to take part in all that is going on there.

We are at school here being educated. By and by our education will be finished, and we shall be called home to our Father's House in Heaven, to take part in all that is going on there.

We have not worked for this inheritance. Like many earthly heirs, it came to us through the death of Someone else. Who was this?

The Lord Jesus Christ, our Saviour, who loved us and gave Himself for us, as we have already seen.

In the Acts of the Apostles, God sent St. Paul to the Gentiles "to open their eyes and to turn them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God, that they might receive forgiveness of sins and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith."

You very often go up steps to a hall door, don't you? There are four steps leading up to the golden door of our inheritance.

   1st. Our eyes must be opened to see we are sinners.

   2nd. We must be willing to leave the darkness of sin and choose the light of goodness.

   3rd. We must be delivered out of the power of the Devil, and come to the Lord Jesus.

   4th. We must receive forgiveness of our sins.

Can we do this ourselves? No, we can't take one of those steps in our own strength.

And then we shall be at the top of the steps waiting to be let through that golden door into our glorious and beautiful inheritance.

THERE is a city bright;
  Closed are its gates to sin;
    Nought that defileth,
    Nought that defileth
  Can ever enter in.

Saviour, I come to Thee;
  O Lamb of God, I pray,
    Cleanse me and save me,
    Cleanse me and save me,
Wash all my sins away.

Lord, make me, from this hour,
  Thy loving child to be,
    Kept by Thy power,
    Kept by Thy power
From all that grieveth Thee,—

Till in the snow-white dress
  Of Thy redeemed I stand,
    Faultless and stainless,
    Faultless and stainless,
Safe in that happy land.

CHAT I. A Lovely Old Garden

CHAT II. The Gardener and the Lady

CHAT II. What the Preacher Said

CHAT III. The Big Dog and the Boy

CHAT IV. Queen Victoria and the Cottager

CHAT IV. The Liverpool Man and His Rent

CHAT IV. The Young Woman and Her Mother

CHAT V. The Bully and the Little Boy

CHAT V. The Shepherd Boy and the Giant

CHAT V. Little David in the East of London

CHAT VI. The Children and their Visitor

CHAT VI. The Boy who Refused a Present

CHAT VI. A Mother who Got a Doll's Tea Set

CHAT VI. A Bachelor Uncle's Peculiar Present

CHAT VI. The Slave Mother and her Son

CHAT VII. The King and the Unwise Subject

CHAT VII. The Servants who Neglected their Duty

CHAT VIII. The Prince of Wales in America

CHAT VIII. The Little Girl, and her Father in India

CHAT VIII. Peter the Great, Emperor of Russia

CHAT IX. Little Lord Fauntleroy

CHAT IX. A Tramp who Got a Mansion

CHAT IX. Queen Victoria and the Crown

I. The Potter—A Unique Eastern Wheel

      "Arise, and go down to the potter's house,
   and there I will cause thee to hear My words.
   Then I went down to the potter's house, and,
   behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. And
   the vessel that he made of clay was marred in
   the hand of the potter; so he made it again
   another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to
   make it."
(Jer. 18.2-4)

II. A Measure of Meal—Woman working with meal

      "The Kingdom of Heaven is like unto leaven,
   which a woman took, and hid in three measures
   of meal, till the whole was leavened."
(Matt. 13.33)

III. Selling Sparrows—Evidently ready for offering
   or cooking

      "Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings,
   and not one of them is forgotten before God?
   But even the very hairs of your head are all
   numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more
   value than many sparrows."
(Luke 12.6, 7)

IV. Washing Feet—Well-known Eastern Custom

      "Jesus knowing that the Father had given all
   things into His hands, and that He was come
   from God, and went to God; He riseth from
   supper, and laid aside His garments; and took a
   towel, and girded Himself. After that He poureth
   water into a bason, and began to wash the
   disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the
   towel wherewith He was girded."
(John 13.3-5)

I. The Passover In Egypt

      "And they shall take of the blood, and strike
   it on the two side posts and on the upper door
   post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it.
   And the blood shall be to you for a token where
   ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over
   you, and the plague shall not be upon you to
   destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt."
(Exod. 12.7, 13)

II. The Firstborn Slain

      "And it came to pass, that at midnight the
   Lord smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt,
   from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his
   throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was
   in the dungeon: and all the firstborn of cattle.
   And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all
   his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there
   was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a
   house where there was not one dead."
(Exod. 12.29, 30).

III. Isaac and Rebekah

      "And Isaac came from the way of the well
   Lahairoi; for he dwelt in the south country.
   And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at
   the eventide: and he lifted up his eyes, and saw,
   and, behold, the camels were coming. And
   Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw
   Isaac, she lighted off the camel."
(Gen. 24.62-64)

IV. Young King Joash

      "Then they brought out the king's son, and
   put upon him the crown, and gave him the
   testimony, and made him king. And Jehoiada
   and his sons anointed him, and said, God save
   the king."
(2 Chron. 23.11)

V. Peter at the Fire

      "But a certain maid beheld him as he sat by
   the fire, and earnestly looked upon him, and
   said, This man was also with Him. And he
   denied Him, saying, Woman, I know Him not."
(Luke 22.56, 57)

VI. The Rent Veil

      "And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave
   up the ghost. And the veil of the temple was
   rent in twain from the top to the bottom."
(Mark 15.37, 38).

VII. Paul before Agrippa

      "Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou
   persuadest me to be a Christian. And Paul
   said, I would to God, that not only thou, but
   also all that hear me this day, were both almost,
   and altogether such as I am, except these bonds."
(Acts 26.28, 29)

The Bible Pictures are from "Bagster's Bible Stories." A new handy pocket edition, containing nearly 50 Original Drawings by C. B. BIRCH, A.R.A. Very useful for children.

"He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day" (2 Tim. 1.12).

"And when He saw a fig tree in the way, He came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforth for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away" (Matt. 21.19).

"They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them" (Matt. 25.3).

"His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber" (Isa. 56.10).

"These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever" (2 Peter 2.17).

"My son, give Me thine heart, and let thine heart observe My ways" (Prov. 23.26).

"And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity" (Matt. 7.23).

"John answered them, saying, I baptise with water: but there standeth One among you, whom ye know not" (John 1.26).

"To open their eyes and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God" (Acts 26.18).

"And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth" (Rev. 21.27).

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