Congratulations! on the New Arrival
Gordon Henry Hayhoe
Table of Contents
Congratulations! on the New Arrival
Congratulations! We are sure you are rejoicing over the arrival of a little one into your family, and we hope that you and your dear wee baby are both well. Almost everyone loves babies because, somehow or other, they bring their love with them. Then, too, they are so helpless that a mother's heart loves to feel that she, and she only, can meet their need and care for them in the proper way.
But new joys always bring new responsibilities, and as a parent, what a great responsibility is yours! Every little one who is born begins a life that will never end; for when called upon to leave this world we simply travel to another. Oh what an important event this birth is.! But the God who has given your dear little one life, has not left you in uncertainty as to the future beyond the grave. He has given us the Bible—His own precious Word, which, though written by the instrumentality of men, is nevertheless inspired of God. It is God's message to us, and it tells us with divine certainty what lies beyond.
First of all it tells us that each one of us, like David of old, has been born in sin and shapen in iniquity (Psa. 51:5; John 3:6). Even your dear little baby has a sinful, fallen nature. You may not like to hear this now, but as it grows older you will soon discover its willfulness, and the stubbornness of its little heart will display itself in many naughty ways. But God has a remedy for the fallen and ruined condition of man. May we tell you about it?
Ever since sin entered the world in the garden of Eden, sin has reigned unto death, but God saw us in our helplessness and He sent His Son, the blessed Lord Jesus Christ, into this sad world. He was the holy sinless One who did not, and could not, sin; therefore He, and He only, could meet our need and die in our stead. Death had no claim over Him, but He allowed wicked men to nail Him to the cross at Calvary, and there in those three dark hours He became our Substitute. "He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed." Isa. 53:5. He had no sins of His own, but He bore the righteous judgment of God for OUR sins. He was punished that we might go free. He bore the judgment that we ought to have borne in hell, in order that we might go to heaven. What love and mercy were displayed at the cross! And now, since He is risen and glorified, "grace reigns through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord." Rom. 5:21.
We trust that you, as parents, have accepted this blessed One as your own personal Savior. If not, we urge you to do it now. You need Him. The very finest of medicine will not do you any good unless you take it; and the Savior's work on Calvary will not save your soul unless you, personally, take your true place as a sinner and receive Him by faith into your heart. If you will do this, then you can rejoice in the knowledge of present salvation. The Lord Jesus said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, bath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life." John 5:24. What glorious assuring words!—but we must warn you that to reject Christ means eternal judgment. Oh do not reject Him, we beseech you!
We are sure that if you receive this blessed Savior yourself, you will want to tell your little one about Him, as he or she grows up. It is a fine practice to read the Bible day by day with your family, and to pray with them too. God has given us, as parents, this responsibility. Your dear baby will require much of your time and interest—we need not say your love and affection. But this is not enough. Your interest in its happiness, education, and all the other necessary things of life, whether great or small, are not half as important as your interest in its eternal welfare. Be sure you do not neglect this, for eternity is a LONG time, though life is so short.
If the Lord should see fit to take your dear baby away in death before it comes to the age when it realizes its responsibility to God, it will go to be with the Lord Jesus, who once said, "Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto Me; for of such is the kingdom of heaven." Matt. 19:14. It will not, however, go there simply because it has not sinned, but because Jesus died. "The Son of man is come to save that which was lost." Matt. 18:11. He must "seek and save" the older ones like ourselves who have wandered away, but He died to "save" the babies who die before they are old enough to either accept or reject the Savior. What a comfort this is!
Just one little word more. You will not only find the way of salvation in your Bible, but you will also find in its blessed pages "all things that pertain to life and godliness." 2 Peter 1:3. The book of Proverbs tells us how to train our children the right way. Yes, the Bible marks out the whole pathway for us. It tells us of the right kind of pleasure, the right kind of education, the right kind of friends, and the proper kind of Christian fellowship and association. When you send (rather I should say, take) your child to Sunday school, be sure it is to a place where it hears the truth of God from those who know and love the Lord themselves. There is plenty of cold formality in the religious world today, but God wants reality. Your child needs Christ—not just religion.
Once again we congratulate you, and wish you the Lord's richest blessing. If you know our precious Savior, we know that although we may never meet in this world we shall meet in that bright home above and sing redemption's song together. "Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood... to Him be glory!" Rev. 1:5,6. May you and your dear ones be there!
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