The Children for Christ by Andrew Murray

has opened up, the way of trusting, loving, holy obedience. Let parents
seek to lead the little one's simple faith in Jesus to this surrender. Let
them claim the child's obedience to themselves as obedience to Jesus.
Let them educate the child to obey conscience in Jesus' name; their
home will be the happy proof that believing children are not unruly.
If ours are not children that believe, let us seek the cause with none but
ourselves. God's promise is sure, and His provision is perfect. There is
something wrong in our consecration. It may be— alas! how frequently
it is so—that the spirit of the world so prevails in heart and home, that
while the Sunday talks teach the children faith in Jesus, the week-day
life trains them to faith in the world, to a surrender to its spirit and rule.
Or it may be that, while we are earnestly engaged in religion and
religious work, there is but little of true spirituality, of the joy and the
love and the power of holiness which alone make religion a reality.
Religion has been an occupation like any other; but the holy presence of
Jesus has not been felt by our children. Or even when there has been a
striving after this, there may have been failure, in our not devoting
ourselves to the holy task of training children; we have entrusted the
work to others, and neglected the self-denial and the study needed to fit
ourselves for the work of ruling them well, and of guiding them in the
ways of the Lord. Let us seek very honestly and very earnestly to
discover the reason of failure, to solve the sad enigma: we are believers,
we have a faithful God, and yet we have not what He claims,' children
that believe, not unruly.'
God calls us to heart-searching, and confession, and return. And even if
we have children that believe, but of whom we cannot but confess that
their faith is not in such power and devotion as we could wish, let us
turn to God with humbling and a new surrender. Our home life needs
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