This morning I came across a book given to me by my mother many years ago: A Child’s Faith: Fifty-two Lessons for Home and School. By Sibyl Harton. First published in 1938 and reprinted several times – the last date in my copy is 1951. I remember seeing my mother study this book when I was very young, no doubt in preparation for teaching Sunday School Lessons or for helping us with ours. I remember reading from it when I was 8th grade when I helped to teach primary students their Sunday School lessons. And again in combination with more current ‘lessons’ back when I was teaching Sunday School as an adult to primary and junior high students.

Today I’m going through a bookcase and deciding which books to keep and which to let go of. This one is a keeper because some things never change. I am going to quote a short section of the Introduction of the lesson titled ‘The Choice’

“Introduction
Why did God make you?
He made every one for the same reason, He made everybody to know, love, and serve Him. Does everybody do this?
You remember we talked about all the things that God made in the beginning. Tell me them. And then God made man, people.
What is the difference between all those first things you told me and men, between the things you can see out of the window and yourself?
You have a soul, made in the likeness of God. You are made like God, and you alone can choose whether you will know, love, and serve God.
Of all the things that are created to be on the earth, men alone can know, love, and choose to serve God.”

This introduction to the lesson has impacted my life profoundly at different times throughout my life. The discussion of the questions is almost enough to be the entire lesson. I believe it is perhaps one of the most profound lessons a person can ever be taught. I love the simplicity of the language in this lesson, suitable for intergenerational teaching and simple enough to go straight from the mind to the heart, to the soul.

Yesterday I listened to the reading from Ephesians which included this verse: “And he [God] made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ . . . “(Ephesians 1:9) [Brackets mine]

Jesus taught his disciples that all people can know, love and choose to serve God in their daily lives. Jesus opened up the Scriptures to many people who had previously been excluded in hearing them read in the Temple. Jesus taught by word and example how people could come to know, love and serve God right where they are and people followed him because they wanted to know, love and serve God.

I believe there are many people who would make this choice in our generation if they knew about it. We should never assume that just because we know why God made us that everyone else knows this too. We should keep reminding ourselves about our purpose because the truth is, in this world it can be easy to forget this lesson. There are people who don’t believe or aren’t certain there even is a God who loves them. Even knowing that, there are many circumstances which arise that may tempt us away from fulfilling God’s purpose in our lives to fulfilling someone else’s desire for our life. Take care, when choices are given to you, to make a choice of serving God while you are in and going through the circumstance.

In the Book of Proverbs we’re told that if we train up our children in the way to go, they will not depart from it when they are old. (They, like some of us, might wander – but they will not depart forever – they will return)

In my book “Praying Our Way Through Stress: Drawing Wisdom from the Lord’s Life and Prayer” I chose different events in Jesus’ life that we would all consider stressful circumstances and take a look at how he glorified God by the way he lived and moved through those circumstances. People have told me it is helping them make better choices in the way they respond to circumstances in their lives and others have told me it’s helping them understand the stories about Jesus and his teachings.

Lord,
Thank you for this simple lesson by Sibyl Harton and the reminder that our purpose is to know, love and serve you God, as Jesus did. Thank you for the gift of our souls, please fill them with your Holy Spirit that we may come to know you better and in knowing you better, love you more and in loving you more, serve you all the days of our lives. Help us to see your soul in other people and set a spark that ignites their souls to waken with the knowledge of your love and care for them and a desire to know, love and serve you as well. Unite us in your Holy Spirit and Truth. We ask this to the glory of your name and the fulfillment of your will and purpose for our life on earth. AMEN