第29章 The Mission of Little Children (1)

"And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them." Matthew xviii.2.

Everything has its mission.I speak not now of the office which each part of the great universe discharges.I speak not of the relation between these parts,--that beautiful ordinance by which the whole is linked together in one common life, by which the greatest is dependent upon the least, and the least shares in the benefactions of the greatest.In this sense, everything has, strictly, its mission.But Ispeak of the influence, the instruction, which everything has, or may have, for the soul of man.The flower, and the star, the grass of the field, the outspread ocean, are full of lessons; they perform a mission to our spiritual nature, if we will receive it.We may pass them by as simply material forms, the decorations or conveniencies(sic) of this our natural life.But if we will come to them in a religious spirit, and study all their meaning, they will be to us ministers of God, impressive and eloquent as human lips, and filled with truths instructive as any that man can utter.

Jesus illustrated his teachings by these objects.He made everything that was at hand perform a mission for the human soul.The lilies of the field were clothed with spiritual suggestion, and the fowls of the air, as they flew through the trackless firmament, bore a lesson of truth and consolation.As if to show that there is nothing, however small, that is insignificant, and that has not its mission, he selected the falling sparrow to be a minister of wisdom, and dignified the wayside well as a clear and living oracle of the divinest truth.

In the instance before us, the object selected was a little child.In reply to the question, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" Jesus set this little one in the midst of his disciples and said, "Verily I say unto you, except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." Thus did he rebuke their sensuous ideas of greatness by a spiritual truth, and make a little child the teacher of profound and beautiful wisdom.Ido not propose, however, at this time, to dwell upon the precise doctrines which Christ taught in the instance, but having, as it were, the little child set in our midst, to draw from it further lessons that may do us good.In one word, I propose to speak of the mission of little children.

In using this term "mission," I wish to have no obscurity about my meaning.I refer, by it, to the influence which little children may exert upon us,--to the effects which they may produce,--rather than to any direct object which they can have in view, or for which they set themselves to work.They may be unconscious missionaries; indeed, to a great extent, they are so.But so are the lilies of the field and the birds of the air.Yet if we believe that God is the ordainer of all wisdom and of all good, that he uses an object or event in numberless ways, and makes it the unconscious instrument of many of his plans, then we may say that children are sent by him for the express purpose of producing these effects, and in that sense have a mission.

I pass to consider some of the modes in which that mission is accomplished.

I.Little children give us a sincere and affectionate manifestation of human nature.I know that even a child will soon become artful, and imbibe the spirit of dealing and of policy.But in a strongly comparative sense, the child is artless.The thoughts of the heart leap spontaneously from the lips.The bubbling impulse is closely followed by the action.Its desire, its aversion, its love, its curiosity, are expressed without modification.The broken prattle, those half-pronounced words, are uttered with clear, ringing tones of sincerity.There is no coil of deceit about the heart.There are no secrets chambered in the brain.The countenance has put on no disguise.There is no manoeuvring with lips or actions, no suspicion or plotting in the eyes.

It is simple human nature fresh from the hands of God, with all its young springs in motion, trying themselves in their simplicity and their newness.The eyes open upon the world, not with speculation, but with wonder.To them, the ancient hills and the morning stars are just created, new phenomena burst upon them every moment, and nature in a thousand channels pours itself into the young soul.And how soon it learns the meaning of a mother's smile, and the protection of a father's hand! How soon the fountains of affection are unsealed and the mystery of human love takes possession of the hear! But the tides of that love are controlled by no calculation, are fettered by no proprieties, but flow artlessly and freely.