"Well I guess I _have!_" was John's enthusiastic response.

And right at this point the way was wide open to show John and the class
the meaning of faith in a heavenly Father. The wise teacher had found a
_point of contact_ in John's faith in the love and care of his parents,
and it was but a step from this to the broader and deeper faith in God.

It is a law of human nature that we are all interested first of all in
what affects our own lives. Our attention turns most easily to what
relates to or grows out of our own experience. The _immediate and the
concrete_ are the natural and most effective starting points for our
thought. The distant and remote exert little appeal to our interest; it
is the near that counts. Especially do these rules hold for children.

Making sure of a point of contact.--All these facts point the way for
the teacher in the planning and organization of material for his class.
The point of departure must always be sought in some _immediate interest
or activity in the life of the child_, and not in some abstract truth or
far-away lesson, however precious these may be to the adult Christian.
And no lesson is ready for presentation until the way into the child's
interest and comprehension has been found. Many a lesson that might have
been full of rich spiritual meaning for the child has been lost to our
pupils because it was presented out of season, or because the vital
connection between the truth and the child's experience was not
discovered by the teacher.

This principle suggests that in the main children should not be taught
religious truths in terms which they cannot grasp, nor in such a way
that the application to their own lives is not clear. For example, the