Lesson 31. DUTY AND LOVING GOD.

Waiapu Church Gazette, Volume XVI, Issue 3, 1 September 1925, Page 8

Lesson 31. DUTY AND LOVING GOD.

Most of the lessons we have had lately have been about pur duty to Gad and our duty towards our neighbor. It is a splendid thing always to do our duty just because it is our duty. We keep the rules at school because it is m every way best for us to do as we are told. We shall never learn all the useful things that are there unless we do go. It is good for our character to do things sometimes that are . irksome and hard and unpleasant. We do not like starting out to school on a cold miserable day when the. wind is blowing, .hard and the rain is falling; but we must learn to be always punctual and regular. It would be much nicer to stay, at -home by the fire, of course, but it is worth while to go to school however unpleasant the Weather is. All through our lives we shall have to do lots of unpleasant things and give up many pleasures we should like, because it is our duty. Sometimes wort is pleasant, sometimes it isn't, but we must do it just the same. No one can ever do great things for himself, his family, his country or for God unless he learns always to do his duty m whatever position he happens to.be. There are thousands of men . and women who live noble lives and help their feliowmen and are famous for the good, things they do simply because they have learnt to "do their duty," 1 although a great many of them are not Christians at all. There are good Mohammedans and good; Hindus and go;od Chinamen and good Englishmen who do not believe m; Jesus "Christ They belong to Him. but they do not.know it. They are good men but they-afe not Christians. r To be a Christian is ever so much more than being merely good. You were made a Christian when you werfe baptised. You :belong to God 's family. .God is^yoiir Father— do you love ' Him ? jjfcsus Christ is your Savioujr-r-do. .y.qu:: love. Him? The HolySpirit^ m y,(ps---,God dwells m yoii and yQ^rin-Gpdi .

If you love God you will keep His Commandments- and you will do His Will— nqt because it is your duty to •do so but because if you love God you will love to do what is right. Do; you love God? St. John says "how can a man love God whom he has not seen?" You cannot love God unless you know Him, and you can't know Him unless you know about Him and talk to Him and let Him talk to you. You can't love God unless you go to Him and confess your sins and know He forgives you and loves you. ' 'We love God because He first loved us." You can't love God unless you know He loves you. There is a hymn "Jesus love me this I know, for the Bible tells me so." 1 Yes! the Bible tells you so; your teacher tells you so and your clergyman tells you so. But you wouldn't love your father or your mother if you had never seen them, and had never talked to them evert if lots of people told you your parents loved you. You must know them and live with them before you can love them. So you can never be a real Christian and love God your Father, unless .you know Him. God has taught Us how to get to know Him. The first thing is we must talk to Him every day. We call talking to God "prayer." Just go into your room or, better still, into a church and kneel down and talk to God. Tell Him everything that makes you sorry, your sins, your troubles, what you long for; everything that makes you happy. your games, your toys. He knows a|l about these things already, but He wants you to tell Him. Then jus!; keep quiet and wait. Perhaps God will talk to you. You will not hear Him talk, but by and bye -when you get into the habit of talking to God, although you will not hear His voice you will know he is speaking to you m your soul. When you are truly sorry for your sins you will know He forgives you and loves you. If you find it hard to do this ask your mother to help you or ask your clergyman. The more you talk to God the easier it will become and the more clearly you will hear God talking to you. If you are able to go to a Communion Service, or if the Blessed Sacrament is kept m the church, you will find it ever so much easier to talk to God before • the Sacrament, where He has specially promised to be. .This is a hard lesson for little children but I want the older ones to read it and to learn how to talk to God, to know God and to love God; but, really, no child is. too young to talk to God. I think the youngest children can talk to God best. He loves to hear little children and He understands them better even than mother does. Not even mother loves you as much as God, your Father m Heaven, loves you. Always tell Him when you have been naughty

and ask Him to make' you good. When you find it hard to talk to God you "will find it is much easier if you have a picture m front of you. The best pictures are Jesus hanging on the Cross,* or Jesus m the arms of His mother, or Jesus m the manger. Grown up people find it hard to talk to God, especially when they have done anything wrong. Some people carry about with them a cross with the. figure of Jesus hanging on it. It is better than a picture because it does not get torn or wear out. When they look at it, it helps them to remember that -" God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son to the end that all that believe m Him should not perish but have everlasting life. ' y

If you haven't a picture of Christ on the Cross perhaps your vicar would give you one. The editor of the "Church Gazette" will send you one if you write and ask for it.