Though We Mourn - We Must Not Murmur (and others)

Though We Mourn - We Must Not Murmur (and others)

"Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will leave this life. The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. Praise the name of the Lord! (Job 1:21).

"See, I am the only God! There are no others. I kill, and I make alive! I wound, and I heal, and no one can rescue you from My power!" (Deuteronomy 32:39).

When a holy and beloved object of our affection is removed by death, we ought to sorrow. Humanity demands it; and Christianity, in the person of the weeping Jesus, allows it. The man without a tear, is a savage or a Stoic - but not a Christian. God intends when He bestows His gifts - that they should be received with smiles of gratitude; and when He recalls them - that they should be surrendered with drops of sacred grief." Sorrow is an affection implanted by the Creator in the soul, for wise and beneficent purposes; and it ought not to be ruthlessly torn up by the roots - but directed in its exercise by reason and piety.

The work of grace, though it is above nature - is not against it. The man who tells me not to weep at the grave - insults me, mocks me, and wishes to degrade me! Tears are the silent, pure, sincere testimony of my heart to the excellence of the gift He gave in mercy; and in mercy, no doubt, as well as judgment, He has recalled.

But, then, though we mourn - we must not murmur. We may sorrow - but not with the violent and uncontrolled grief of the heathen, who have no hope. Our sorrow must flow, deep as we like, but noiseless and still - in the channels of submission. It must be a sorrow so quiet, as to hear all the words of consolation which our heavenly Father utters amidst the gentle strokes of His rod. It must be sorrow so reverential, as to as to adore Him for the exercise of His prerogative in taking away what and whom He pleases. It must be sorrow so composed, as to prepare us for doing His will as well as bearing it. It must be a sorrow so meek and gentle, as to justify Him in His dispensations. It must be a sorrow so confiding, as to be assured that there is as much love in taking the mercy away - as there was in bestowing it. It must be a sorrow so grateful, as to be thankful for the mercies left - as well as afflicted for the mercies lost. It must be a sorrow so trustful, as to look forward to the future with hope. It must be a sorrow so patient, as to bear all the aggravations that accompany or follow the bereavement with unruffled acquiescence. It must be a sorrow so holy, as to lift the prayer of faith for Divine grace, to sanctify the stroke. It must be a sorrow so lasting, as to preserve through all the coming years of life, the benefit of that event, which in one solemn moment changed the whole aspect of our earthly existence.

~John Angell James~
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They Slay Their Own Children!

A mother should never forget that those little engaging creatures which play about the room so gaily and so so innocently, with all the unconsciousness of childhood, are young immortals - beings destined to eternity - creatures placed on earth on probation for heaven - and that much will depend on her, whether the everlasting ages shall be spent by them in torment - or in bliss!

This is an overwhelming thought!

All should realize the sublime idea that their houses are the schools for eternity; their children the scholars; themselves the teachers; and evangelical religion the lesson.

Those parents who neglect the religious education of their children, whatever they may impart, are more guilty than Herod! He slew the children of others, they slay their own children! He slew only the body, they slay the soul! He slew them by hired assassins, they slay their children themselves!

We shudder at the cruelties of those who sacrificed their babies to Moloch. But how much more dreadful an immolation do they practice, who offer up their sons and daughters to satan, by neglecting the education of their souls, and leaving them to grow up in ignorance of God and their eternal destiny!

Mothers, Your religion, if it is genuine, will teach you at once the greatness of the work, and your own insufficiency to perform it aright in your own strength. You business is to train immortal beings for God, heaven, and eternity!

~John Angell James~