These children, with all their childish waywardness and
restlessness, do generally love Jesus. They do trust in Him, and are
unhappy when they know they have committed a sin against Him. They do,
when taught, pray to Him, believe that He hears their prayers and
loves them. Shall the teacher now begin to impress upon the minds and
hearts of these little ones the idea that they are not yet Christ's,
and that Christ has nothing to do with them, except to seek and call
them, until they are converted? And shall they go home from
Sunday-school with the impression that all their prayers have been
empty and useless, because their hearts have not been changed? Dare
the Sunday-school thus confuse the child, raise doubts as to Christ's
forgiveness and love, and "_quench the Spirit_?" Oh how sad, that
thus thousands of children have their first love, their first trust,
quenched by those who have more zeal than knowledge!

No, no, these are Christ's lambs. They come with His marks upon
them. Let the Sunday-school teacher work in harmony with the mother
who gave these children to Christ. Let the whole atmosphere of the
school impress on that child the precious truth that it is Jesus'
little lamb. _Feed_ that lamb, feed it with _the sincere milk
of the Word_. Lead that lamb gently; teach it to understand its
relation to the Great Shepherd, to know Him, to rejoice in His love,
to love His voice, to follow His leadings more and more closely.

Instead of singing doubtfully and dolefully:

"I am young, but I must die,
In my grave I soon shall lie.
Am I ready now to go,