God says we are lost. Is this a hard lesson to learn? Do you believe that you are lost?
Let us look at a few texts of holy scripture which teach us that we are lost.
We will choose our first text from the children's chapter in the Gospel by St. Matthew. Do you remember which chapter that is?
The Lord Jesus called a little child, who loved Him, to Him, and setting him in the midst of His disciples, He told them that whoso should offend one of the little ones who believe in Him, "It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea."
How could a grown man "offend" a little child? By making him " stumble." Not by making his feet stumble. It would be a very unkind thing to put a stone in the way of little baby's feet, just when she was beginning to try to run, and to make her stumble and fall, as the little arms were stretched out to reach her mother. But how great the wickedness of making a little one who loves Jesus stumble on his way to Him! And teaching children what is not true about the Lord is like putting a stone in the way of baby's feet, and the wrong things told children about the Lord are stumbling-stones by which many a child has fallen and been turned aside from the Lord Jesus.
Jesus showed His disciples how terrible the wickedness of doing this was in His sight, and by the words He spoke about the little ones, as they are recorded for us in the 18th chapter of Matthew, verses 1 to 14, He shows us how He loves children.
Why were the disciples themselves bidden by the gracious Lord, " Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of My Father which is in heaven"? The answer is given by the Lord Himself, " For the Son of Man is come to save that which was LOST."
How kind are these words! Perhaps when you are troubled over your little difficulties you want a kind heart to help you. Remember that Jesus is near. Grown people should not despise a child's desire to know who Jesus is; let them remember that the Father of the Son has told us of their mighty angels in heaven-"Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?" (Heb. 1:1414Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation? (Hebrews 1:14).) Now, why is this? For no less a reason than that the Creator of the angels, the Lord Himself, came down to earth to save children. Yes, Jesus shed His blood for children-for "little ones." " "Little ones," even as grown men and women, were LOST. And to save the lost Jesus gave up His life.
Old or young, we are all lost. There are not two ways of being saved, one for grownup people, and the other for children. It would be placing a stumbling-stone in your way to heaven if we told you of any other name under heaven as your Savior than Jesus; or of any other way of having your sins cleansed than by His blood.
When the Lord thus speaks of the lost little one, He places Himself before us as a Shepherd, seeking that which has gone astray. Jesus says, if the shepherd had lost but "one sheep," he would leave the ninety and nine to seek the lost one, and that with a special joy the shepherd would find that sheep. How happy for your hearts to know that the Good Shepherd has rejoiced over you! And the Good Shepherd's love explains to us the love of God the Father for a little child; yes, the love of the great and the eternal God for lost, helpless children. Jesus Himself teaches us, "Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish."
These words of Jesus, so tender and so kind, make it a joyful privilege for us to tell you about "little ones" who loved Him upon earth, children whom He found.
There are three other texts, spoken by the Lord, and each having lost and found in them, which you—must also try to remember. You will find them in the 15th chapter of Luke.
" Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was LOST."
" Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had LOST."
" It was meet that we should make merry, and. be glad; for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was LOST, and is found."
We will now give you a few true stories about children lost and found, as related by different writers.
LOST AND FORSAKEN.
One calm and sunny evening we started out in search of a lake upon a Welsh mountain, the beauties of which had been described to us as well worth seeing. As we rose higher and higher, the sun's last beams gradually disappeared, and a kind of gloom seemed to be upon everything. All around us was as desolate and barren as the valley had been wooded and fertile. We wandered on, but seeing no signs of the lake, some of our party proposed going forward to look for it, and I, with one companion, was left behind.
We were walking in silence, when we heard, at a short distance, a strange little noise. We listened, and heard it again and again, and looking in the direction whence the sound came, saw a poor little lamb fast in a marshy piece of ground. Its piteous bleating aroused our sympathies! but, alas, we could not rescue it, for if we had ventured where it was, we, too, should have fallen into, the swamp. So, although it made us miserable to leave the tiny creature, we were obliged to follow our friends, and as we moved on the bleating grew less and less distinct.
But that little noise rang in my ears, and I could not help thinking how exactly the lamb was in the position of the sinner;-it had wandered afar from the flock, and when the others were called by the shepherd to go down the mountain, the lamb did not answer his call, and so it was lost! And is not this just what we have all done? wandered from the Good Shepherd-gone astray-refused to listen to His voice? Have you, dear little reader, till now, turned away from the. Shepherd's voice? If so, you are like the poor foolish lamb-lost!
But I must continue my little story, that you may see how different is the Lord Jesus from the Welsh shepherd. Continuing our walk, we saw the wild and desolate beauty of the lake; and after remaining a short time at the top of the mountain we descended by another path. We thus met a shepherd, and told him about the lamb, asking him to go and save it.
" Ah! miss, I'm sorry to hear this. If it were not so far on in the day I would go and see what I could do, but now it is too late. By the time I could reach the spot it would be dark, so the lamb must suffer for its foolishness."
"Then do you think that it can live through the cold night?" I asked.
" Well, miss," he replied, "I am afeared not-it's such a young thing. I ought to a-missed it from the flock, but somehow I didn't."
So we passed on; but this conversation did not soon pass from my mind. I could not forget the poor lamb, and that there was no one who could save it. We could not, for fear of getting into the same danger; and the shepherd' said it was too late.
The Bible says, " All we like sheep have gone astray." (Isa. 53:66All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:6).) But then the Good Shepherd, Jesus, saw us when we had strayed, and came just where we were, though to save us it cost Him His life. He gave Himself for us.
Then, dear little reader, since Jesus came to you to save you from everlasting death, just believe in Him and trust yourself to Him. He is the Good Shepherd, and how well He deserves that name eternity alone will prove-when He has all His sheep and lambs around Him, not one missing, not one forgotten! Little reader, do you wish to be one of the lambs of Jesus? If the answer of your heart be "yes," then believe in Him. Do not try to help to save yourself. He will not half save you-He will do it wholly, if you do but trust Him. He said of Himself, "The Good Shepherd giveth His life for the sheep. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me: and I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand." J. M. R.
LOST, AND NOT FOUND.
One cold, cheerless Sunday night a poor woman was hurrying down one of the crowded streets of the metropolis, and her face wore such an anxious look that I inquired the cause of her trouble. I have lost my little boy," said she; "he went to Sunday school this afternoon, and he has not come home. His father and I are almost distracted, and I am now going to the police-station to see if he has been taken there." Perhaps my young readers may know that when the police find lost boys or girls they take charge of them until their friends claim them.
"Let me help you," said I; so we hurried to the nearest police-station. We entered a bare room, where stood several blue-coated police. We told our errand, and a ray of hope lit up the poor mother's face as a policeman pointed to a dark corner of the room, where a little boy was lying upon a bench. His face was towards the wall, his head had fallen on his breast, and he lay fast asleep. The mother hastened towards him, hoping that the little fellow was her boy, but as the flare of the gas fell upon his face, her hopes were crushed. He was not her son. Her sorrow became greater through disappointment, but though weary and dispirited, she hurried to the next station. It was some distance off, and I could not accompany her.
LOST, BUT ASLEEP.*
I WANT you, my young friends, to look at that boy lying upon the form. Such a dear, rosy-faced little fellow he was, and seemed as happy as possible. He was lost, yet fast asleep-lost, but unconscious of it, sleeping as peacefully and quietly as if he were safe in his little bed at home. He had forgotten all about the hard bench, and the blue-coated and brass-buttoned men that tramped in and out of the stone-floored room. He was not disturbed by the sin and misery of which a police-station speaks.
I wonder if that sleeping boy is a picture of yourself. Are you unconscious of the dreadful fact that you are lost? that you are away from God, and away from all true peace, and joy, and love? Are you saying, I feel comfortable; I do not feel that I am lost? The little sleeper does not feel that he is lost; he appears quite peaceful, but that does not alter the fact that he is lost. And God says all are lost; for all-since Adam left the beautiful garden in which God placed him-are away from God and lost. Perhaps you know that you are lost, but like another little boy of whom I will tell you, you are not troubled.
LOST, BUT SELF-CONFIDENT.
One Sunday afternoon, as I was leaving our schoolroom, I saw a little fellow lingering behind. He had forgotten where he lived, and as he did not belong to my class, I did not know his name or address.
" Can you point out the direction in which you live, my boy? "
"Oh, yes," he said; "that is the way, sir."
"Then take my hand and run along," said I.
Presently we came to a crossing.
"Which is the way now?"
"That way," he said.
"Are you quite sure?" I asked.
"Yes, quite sure, sir."
So we were soon trotting along again. After a few minutes I again asked him, " Are we in the right way?"
" Oh yes; quite right," he replied.
We now came to another crossing, and I said, " I feel sure that this cannot be the right way." Then the little boy confessed that he did not know where he was. What was to be done? After a little consideration I decided to take him home with me, where he was soon happily engaged enjoying cake and tea. But his parents were full of anxiety. His father had gone in search of him, and having learned that his boy, had been seen with me, he hastened to my house, and I cannot tell you how happy he was to find his son. The little boy had taken exactly the opposite direction to that which led to his home. This boy was lost but self-confident. He did not cry, was not troubled, and if left alone would have wandered until the shades of night had proved to him with terrible truth that he was lost. This is a picture of many children. They have a way of their own to be saved, and are confident that it is the right one. Some people say there are a great many ways of being saved, but God's word only tells us of one way, and if you are trying to be saved by any other way than through Jesus and what He has done, you are only getting farther and farther away from God, and if you delay coming to Jesus, the long, dark, terrible night of judgment will overtake you, and then you cannot be saved at all. H. N.
LOST AND FOUND.
Little reader, do you understand what a sad thing it is to be lost? Perhaps the following incident which happened to me when a child, will help to make it plain.
I was on a visit to some friends who lived in a busy part of London. The children of the family were named Frank and Edith. One day their grandmamma took us out for a walk. Frank and I walked together part of the way, and then he left me to walk with his grandmamma and sister. I did not like walking alone, and thought it was unkind of Frank to leave me,. But very soon I forgot the loss of his company, and became interested in the many strange sights that met my view. We were just turning into a large square when my eye was attracted by a shoemaker busy at his work near the door of a cellar. Quite forgetting that my friends had gone on, I stood to watch him, remaining a long while, for I well remember he finished soling and heeling a boot. As the man rose from his work I turned round and thought of my friends, but they were nowhere to be seen. I ran up one street and down another, looking for them in vain. What was to be done? I began to feel-lost! and could keep back my tears no longer. While thus standing at the corner of a street and sobbing aloud, a group of children gathered around me, and one or two ventured to inquire the cause of my grief. I could only sob out, "I'm lost!" Some rude boys seemed to enjoy the sight of my grief, for they laughed and shouted, "She's lost, she's lost! " Ah! they did not understand my sad condition; nor the painful thoughts of my heart. How lonely and helpless I then felt, as I thought of my kind parents and home, and that perhaps I might never see them again.
Many busy people were passing at the time, but only a few stopped to express their pity. Some told me not to cry, and some said I had better be taken to the police station, but no one offered to find my home.
A long, long time I stood at the corner of that street, getting more and more miserable. But God was caring for me-a poor, lost little girl-and was even then preparing a way to lead me back to my friends.
A rough-looking man came pushing through the group that surrounded me, saying as he did so," Do you know the name of the street where you live, little girl? "
"Yes," I replied, wiping away my tears, "and oh! sir, do you know the street? "
"I'll find it for you," he answered; "give me your hand and come with me."
You will say, little reader, that I was very glad to go with the man, but indeed it was not so, for I feared that, perhaps, he did not mean what he said, and again the big teardrops fell from my eyes.
"Well," he exclaimed, "you are a long time thinking about taking my hand; don't you want to go home?"
"Oh! yes, sir, I do, but"-and I hesitated.
"Ah!" he broke in, "you don't like to trust yourself with such a rough-looking man as I seem to be; that's about it now, isn't it, little girl?"
"You are so dirty," I sobbed out.
"That may be," he replied, "but you may trust me for all that. Are you coming?" he continued, for still I hesitated; "if not, I must leave you to your fate."
" Well," I thought, " I can't be much worse off in going with the man," so putting my hand into his, I answered, " I'll go with you, sir, but I do hope you know the way to Aldersgate Street, and that you will please take me there."
"You are a queer child," said he, as we hurried along, "but don't you fear, I mean what I say; I'll take you safe home."
He was as good as his word. We went by a way I knew not, through many dark alleys and dirty places, but he carefully led me along, lifting me over muddy crossings, and holding me tightly lest I should slip, and very soon I was smiling in the arms of my friends.
Oh! how well it was that I had trusted myself to the kind man's care! I shall never forget my misery when I knew myself lost in London, nor how happy I felt when found.
But several years later I had to experience yet greater misery, and after that still greater happiness. Do you understand what I mean?
All my life. I had been going away from God, and when at length I discovered my lost condition I was afraid to take another step. It was then that I learned that "the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost," and with the eye of faith I looked to Him.
Little reader, unless you have felt that you are lost, you can never know the joy of being found by a loving Savior. E. E. S.
THE FLOCK FOLLOW HIM.
YES, Jesus Christ, th' Eternal Son,
Came down to take the sinner's place,
Jesus, all glorious names in one,
Died to redeem His chosen race.
He died to rescue fallen man,
And bled for sinners here below;
Dear children, tell me if you can,
Do you this precious Savior know?
For Jesus' sheep delight to hear
Their loving Shepherd's gentle voice;
His lambs have an attentive ear,
And in His sweet commands rejoice.