JESUS
CHRIST
more
shall
your
Father
which
is
in
heaven
give
good
things
to
them
that
ask
him?'
(7").
That
the
provision
includes
spiritual
blessings
as
its
chief
part
is
made
explicit
in
Lk
11".
(6)
God
educates
and
disciplines
His
children.
Jesus
does
not
say
this
expressly,
but
it
may
be
noticed
that
there
are
two
aspects
of
a
child's
earthly
training
which
are
reproduced
in
what
He
says
about
the
Divine
education
of
souls.
A
child's
education,
though
arduous
and
painful,
is
designed
for
its
good;
and
similarly,
Jesus
says.
Blessed
are
the
poor,
the
mourners,
the
persecuted,
the
reviled
(Mt
S^^).
The
second
aspect
is
that
the
children
do
not
always
appreciate
the
wisdom
and
kindness
of
the
discipline,
but
must
be
asked
to
take
it
on
trust.
Similarly,
the
earthly
child
must
often
trust
the
Heavenly
Father's
love
where
he
cannot
comprehend
His
purpose,
saying,
'
Yea,
Father,
for
so
it
was
weU-pleasing
in
thy
sight'
(Mt
ll^*).
(c)
God
holds
intimate
intercourse
with
His
children.
It
does
not
lie
in
the
idea
of
an
earthly
parent
to
hold
aloof
from
his
children,
and
God
admits
His
to
close
communion
with
Himself.
On
their
side
it
takes
the
form
of
prayer,
on
His
of
response.
They
are
en-couraged
to
seek
both
spiritual
and
material
blessings,
and
that
importunately
(parables
of
the
Importunate
Widow,
Lk
IS'"-;
the
Friend
at
Midnight,
11»»-),
and
they
are
assured
that
'whatsoever
they
shall
ask
in
prayer,
believing,
they
shall
receive'
(Mt
212^).
(ft)
God
is
graciously
disposed
to
forgive
His
children's
offences.
His
way
with
sinners
is
not
the
way
of
a
man
with
his
enemy,
to
whom
he
refuses
on
any
terms
to
be
reconciled,
or
of
a
creditor
with
his
debtor,
who
insists
on
full
payment,
but
that
of
a
father,
who
meets
a
penitent
son
in
a
spirit
of
magnanimity,
rejoices
over
his
return,
and
receives
him
back
to
his
home.
The
point
of
the
three
great
parables
in
Lk
15
is
that,
while
the
respectable
world
was
sceptical
about
the
restoration
of
the
erring,
and
frowned
on
those
who
attempted
it,
there
is
in
heaven
a
charity
that
believeth
all
things,
and
joy
imspeakable
over
one
sinner
that
repenteth.
(c)
God
destines
His
children
to
an
inheritance.
This
is
itself,
as
has
been
indicated,
a
distinct
and
large
topic
of
the
teaching
of
Jesus,
and
it
is
sufflcient
here
to
refer
to
a
text
in
which
the
logic
of
the
relationship
is
clearly
brought
out:
'
Fear
not,
little
flock,
for
it
is
your
Father's
good
pleasure
to
give
you
the
kingdom'
(Lk
12'2).
In
the
light
of
the
above
analysis
we
are
in
a
position
to
deal
with
the
much-discussed
question.
Did
Jesus
conceive
of
God
as
the
Father
of
all
men,
or
only
as
the
Father
of
those
who
are
within
the
family-Kingdom?
It
may
be
that
Jesus
applies
the
name
of
Father
to
God
only
in
relation
to
the
children
of
the
Kingdom,
but
the
palpable
meaning
of
His
teaching
is
that
God
is
the
Father
of
all
men,
while
yet
it
is
not
possible
for
Him
to
be
the
Father,
in
the
full
sense
of
the
word,
of
those
who
are
living
in
impenitence
and
in
alienation
from
Him.
He
is
the
Father
of
all
to
the
extent
that
they
are
created
by
Him,
are
made
in
His
image,
have
their
wants
supplied
by
Him,
and
are
disciplined
by
Him;
but
just
as
it
is
impossible
for
an
earthly
father
to
forgive
a
contumacious
son,
to
hold
intercourse
with
an
absent
son,
and
to
make
an
heir
of
a
son
who
has
already
squandered
his
portion,
so
is
it
impossible
for
God
to
be
in
the
full
sense
a
Father
to
those
who
shun
His
face
and
spurn
His
gifts.
(2)
The
terms
of
sonship.
—
The
next
great
theme
is
the
question
how
men
become
members
of
the
family-
Kingdom.
Negatively
Jesus
teaches
that
we
are
not
born
into
it,
as
one
was
born
into
the
Jewish
State,
and
also
that
membership
is
not
an
order
of
merit
conferred
in
recognition
of
distinguished
attainments
in
piety
and
virtue.
The
most
important
and
comprehensive
utterance
of
our
Lord
on
the
point
is
this
—
'Except
ye
turn
and
become
as
little
children,
ye
shall
in
no
wise
enter
into
the
kingdom
of
heaven'
(Mt
18').
Here
again
we
can
trace
the
fidelity
of
the
detail
to
the
JESUS
CHRIST
fundamental
idea
of
the
family-Kingdom:
what
should
be
so
necessary
in
the
son
as
childlikeness?
On
ex-amination
childlikeness
proves
to
include
a
variety
of
qualities
which
are
elsewhere
declared
by
Jesus
to
be
conditions
of
sonship:
(o)
Trustfulness.
—
When
Jesus
proposed
the
children
as
a
model,
there
can
be
little
doubt
that
He
had
prominently
in
mind
the
child's
capacity
of
faith.
He
would
have
His
followers
trust
in
the
wisdom
and
the
love
of
the
Father
with
the
sublime
confidence
with
which
a
child
naturally
trusts
in
an
earthly
parent.
There
are
examples
of
the
joy
which
He
felt
at
unexpected
cases
of
heroic
faith,
e.g.
of
the
centurion
of
Capernaum
and
the
Syrophcenician
woman.
The
grand
object
of
this
faith
was
God.
'
Have
faith,'
He
says,
'
in
God
'
(Mk
ll^^)
.
But
this
faith
in
God
included
also
faith
in
Himself
as
the
appointed
instrument
for
the
performance
of
God's
great
work
with
men.
(&)
Sense
of
need.
—
A
child,
being
cast
upon
others
for
the
supply
of
its
wants,
has
a
keen
sense
of
need.
And
this
sense,
which
from
one
point
of
view
is
humility,
is
also
a
prom-inent
mark
of
the
children
of
the
Kingdom.
We
are
asked
to
admire
the
publican,
who,
in
contrast
to
the
self-satisfied
Pharisee,
confessed
his
unworthiness
and
his
need
of
mercy
(Lk
18").
The
self-complacency
of
the
Rich
Young
Ruler
showed
that
though
not
far
from,
he
was
still
outside
of,
the
Kingdom
of
God
(Mk
10"").
The
Beatitude
is
for
those
who
hunger
and
thirst
after
righteousness
(Mt
5').
(c)
T?ie
penitential
spirit.
—
With
childlikeness
may
also
be
associated
the
graceof
penitence,
for
childhood,
when
not
spoiled
by
hardening
influences,
is
the
period
of
the
sensitive
conscience.
In
any
case
penitence
is
closely
bound
up
with
faith
as
the
essential
condition.
'
He
came
into
Galilee
preaching
and
saying.
Repent
ye
and
believe
the
gospel'
(Mk
1").
The
stages
of
penitence
are
vividly
illustrated
in
the
parable
of
the
Prodigal
Son
(Lk
15"-»).
(d)
Resolution.
—
A
fourth
parallel
is
that
in
the
child
there
is,
along
with
a
sense
of
need,
a
resolute
determination
to
secure
what
it
values.
There
are
some,
it
is
true,
who
receive
the
heavenly
blessings
in
response
to
an
invitation,
or
almost
under
compulsion,
but
the
rule
is
that
they
are
Uke
the
merchantman
seeking
goodly
pearls,
and
wiUing
to
make
any
sacrifice
to
secure
what
they
seek.
'The
kingdom
of
heaven
suffereth
violence,
and
men
of
violence
take
it
by
force'
(Mt
11").
(3)
The
privileges
of
the
children.
—
The
enumeration
of
these
has
already
been
anticipated
in
what
has
been
said
of
the
implications
of
the
Divine
Fatherhood.
The
children
possess,
in
fact
or
in
promise,
the
fulness
of
the
blessings
which
God
as
the
Heavenly
Father,
who
is
also
all-powerful,
is
disposed
to
bestow.
They
include
the
forgiveness
of
sins,
access
to
the
Father
in
prayer,
the
provision
needed
for
the
supply
of
bodily
and
spiritual
wants,
guidance
in
perplexity,
protection
in
danger,
power
of
a
supernatural
kind,
and
the
assurance
that
their
names
are
written
in
heaven
(Lk
lO^").
The
privileges
are
summarily
described
as
life
(Mt
7",
Mk
9«)
and
as
salvation
(Lk
19').
Their
exceeding
value
is
emphasized
in
particular
maxims
(Mt
16*),
and
in
the
parables
of
the
Hid
Treasure
and
of
the
Pearl
of
Price
(Mt
13"-«).
In
spite
of
the
hardships
and
perils
of
the
life
to
which
they
are
called,
the
habitual
mood
of
the
children
is
one
of
repose
and
even
of
joy
(Mt
(4)
The
filial
and
fraternal
obligations.
—
^The
observa-tion
that
the
teaching
of
Jesus
is
in
substance
a
system
built
up
out
of
the
higher
elements
of
family
life
is
con-firmed
when
we
approach
its
practical
ideal.
This
is
made
up
of
filial
obligations
towards|God,
and
of
fraternal
obligations
towards
men.
(i)
The
duties
towards
God
are
those
which
naturally
devolve
upon
the
children
in
consideration
of
the
Father's
greatness,
wisdom,
and
goodness.
Love
being
the
great
thing
manifested
by
God
towards
them,
their
fundamental
duty
is
to
love
Him
in
return
with
all
their
heart,
and
with
all
their
soul,
and
with
all
their
mind,
and
with
all
their
strength
