MOTHERS' CORNER.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 9303, 1 August 1908, Page 7

MOTHERS' CORNER.

«■ (Specially oompiled for the " Star.") " Every home is a mint for ooiniag character." GOD'S FELLOW-WORKERS. la these days we hear a great deal about unions. It ha 3 been abundantly proved that when persons whoso interests are identical band themselves together, under certain rules, framed for the good of all, those interests are greatly promoted, and united action secures advantages which could never have been gained by. each one playing " a lone hand. 3 ' The principle, indeed, is no new discovery. King Solomon, in one of his books of wise sayings — books that are so full of practical counsel for the conduct of life, "that it would be well if we gave them more attention than they generally receive of late years — speaks thus of the advantages of union: "Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labour; for if they, fall, the one shall lift up his fellow, but woe to him that is alone when ho falleih, for he hath not another to lift him up. . . . And if one shall prevail against him, two shall withstand him, and a three-fold oospd is not quickly broken." Now, if this principle is so well understood in modern times that to state it is a mere truism, eurely this is sufficient justification, if ire need any, for the existence of the Mothens' Union. If the fellow-workers of every other trade and calling have their unions, and profit by them, why in the name of all that's fair and reasonable, should it cause surprise or questioning if t<hose unite for mutual support and counsel and encouragement who are engaged in. the most wide-spreading, the most arduous, the most anxious, the most interesting and absolutely the most important business that t&fi world has yet seen or shall see? Let us magnify our office! Those who are most deeply impressed with the importance of the work they have to do, whatever £nat work may be, will not only apply themselves to it the more earnestly, but they are the more likely to impress others with respect for it. And perhaps the first way in which our Union helps us is by emphasising the fact that the mother's office is a great one, since the whole future of society, the whole well-being of the State in years to come, depends largely,, if not chiefly, on the wise- and faithful exercise of it to-day. Surely this fact must add to our selfreverence, since God has put such honour upon mothers, as to reserve so large a place for! them in the working out of His gracious purpose towards mankind, we ought not to think lightly of that place, we who are called to be " workers together with God 1" That is a glorious title, is it not? One almost trembles to claim it, and yet — what was the great work which our Lord Jesus Christ came into this world to dof One puts that question sometimes to a class of little children, and in childish words the answers come: — "He came to make us good/ 5 "He came to make us glad." And yet other little voices chime m, "To make us kind," "To make us true." The grandest truths can best be told m the simplest words; we obscure our meaning sometimes when we try to find words of fitting dignity to express it. i^k To . m & ke us-sood, to make us glad, that is the work of our Saviour, and so it follows that everyone who is doing the best she knows to make good and glsCd one little corner of the earth, to make a pure and happy home for those nearest to her, is a " Worker together with Him " ; and may feel confident of His loving sympathy in her efforts. We often hear the phrase "The Lord's used in a way tßat is misleading. When people make it to jmean only work that is more or less public, or that is undertaken voluntarily outside of the duties that are put into our hands the phrase is certainly misused. Voluntary works, undertaken for the love of God and of man may indeed be the Lord's work, and His kingdom has need of such. But the duties which He puts into our hands, which we may not neglect without sin, they must be the Lord's work, since He has given it to us to do. I rei/iember once being sorely hurt by hearing those words misapplied. It was soon after all my old home duties had come/ rather suddenly to an end, because there was no longer anyone but myself left in the old home. For years my hands and my thoughts had been full with the care of the invalid and feeble of my own flesh and blood, and when this was all over, and when after a little while I be^an to look rotind, for some work in which I might be useful and helpful in the Church of Christ, a lady whom Iwas consulting made use of the expression, " Now that you are free to do the Lord's work." It gave me a little stab of pain, as if all that had gone before had been other than the Lord's work, as if doing the plain duties that it would be sin to neglect could hinder one doing the Lord's work ! And then I thought, " 1 wish I may be as confident that anything I may undertake hereafter is

what my "Lord wills me to do, an I was wheu I had no choice in the matter." Often since then have I had need to pray, "Lead me in a plain path, make Thy way straight before me"; but in my old home the work was laid with my hands, and I could cot doubt it was laid in them by my Lord himself. Another use of the, phrase, which I believe is mistaken, is when it isyapplied exclusively to work of a religious nature, as if we could not serve our Lord in work which we call secular. My friends, washing the children's clothes is the Lord's work. If you find it hard to believe this, just consider whose work you would be aiding if you were to neglect it! Surely dirt and nastiness and ugliness and disease which conies from dirt is of the devil, and what is washing and cleaning of all kinds but trying to get rid of that? And when a mother turns out her little boys and girls sweet and fresh and pure and self-respecting, she is doing the Lord's work, for their bodies at least; and, though this may not bo the highest/ department of the work of God's kingdom, it is yet most necessary work. But there can be no question at all that every faithful member of the Mothers' tJnion — that is, every member who is earnestly doing the best she ..knows to carry out the simple and ; plainly expressed rules upon her card I of membership — is really and truly a j worker together with God ! Yes 1 Together with God ! And if it were not so, how vain and unfruitful all would be! In my own dealings with young minds, it is more and more borfle in upon, mo that neither teacher, however earnest, nor parent, howevor devoted, nor pastor, nor preacher, howevor zealous, can do what is the work of the Spirit of God alone f Now I have known persona so impressed with the truth that the Spirit of God alone is the author and giver of life that they forget or overlook another truth. — a } truth which prevails throughout all nature — that God requires man to be (what a glorious thought it is) His fellow-worker ! Overlooking this complementary truth, they disparage, not only all systematic religious teaching, but all earnest care for the moral well-being of their children. Surely this is about as wise as if a pious farmer is so much impressed with his own powerlessness to control the growth of his crops, so convinced that it is alone " God who giveth the increase," a3 to omit the ploughing, " and hoeing, and irrigating, and just wait for the Divine working. For, you see, throughout all Nature God condescends to require us to prepare the way for His life-giving work, and to remove hindrances — and just so in the spiritual part of nature, God condesceuds to require us to prepare the way,, and to remove hindrances to the working of His Holy Spirit. I And this is what every Christian mother, whether she belong to our Union or not, is engaged in when she is doing the best she knows to carry out those practical things which are suggested in our rules. : " But," someone says, " how inadequate to the purpose ,is the best we know ! We heartily approve of the rules, but how little we know how to go about putting them in practice." True ! Complete theories of training are, I believe, the peculiar property of people who have no children to train. But wo all know it is a work which takes a good many years, and that each year has a great many days in it, and we generally can find out what is the best thing to do to-day. My friends, if one were engaged in some part of a difficult and many-sided work, of which one did not understand all the details, but knew that the master, in whose mind jthe whole plan was complete, was very wise, and knew just where and how each one of his workers could be of most use ; would not such a one go nior.ning by morning to receive instructions, not for the^whole term of his engagement :— but for the day. And for us who are — let us think it with all reverence — " workers together with God," the Master- worker is never far away. He does hear. He does an* swer the petition, " Make us to perceive and know what things we ought to do, and also to have grace and power faithfully to fulfil the same." And, further, God's work cannot fail 1 He kuows how to turn the very mistakes and stupidities of humble and faithful workers into successes and victories. "God has mended what I marred," was the testimony of a Christian mother in her old age ; for she had lived long enough to see the result. And if from the observations and experiences of my own life I have learned anything regarding this great work, I j have learned this — to be hopeful, to be patient. Behold, the husbandman waiteih for the fruit of the ground and hath long patience for it, until it receive the early and the latter rain. Be ye also patient. Stablish ye your hearts!