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Letter to the Teacher
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Letter to the Teacher
V
ERY little preface is here required. Read over carefully Lesson II.
on "THE KINGDOM OF GOD" before you begin your teaching.
Try to work out for yourself the thoughts just sketched
there in bare outline. All through the Gospel of St. Mark
keep before you this thought of the "Kingdom of
God as the ideal ever present to the mind of our
Blessed Lord—a colony of Heaven to be founded on earth,
like the colonies of Rome founded throughout the
ancient world—a colony whose laws should be the laws of
Heaven; whose work and amusements should be according
to the will of "The King;" whose subjects should be
those who "suffer long, and are kind, who envy not,
who vaunt not, who seek not their own; and whose future
should be in the perfect Kingdom of God" above. Think
of the Roman colony at Philippi, whose citizens so
identified themselves with the far-off imperial city,
rejecting customs not lawful for us to receive or to
observe, being Romans? (Acts xvi. 21). Think of
St. Paul's teaching about the colony of Heaven to these
same Philippians, so proud of being citizens of
Imperial Rome.
Our citizenship is in Heaven." (Philippians. iii. 20). Try to
press on the children this thought of the Kingdom of
God on earth as a colony of Heaven. There are "customs
not lawful for us to receive or observe, being members
of the Kingdom of God." Try to teach them the real,
practical religion implied in being members of that
Kingdom. Teach them that Bible-reading, and Prayer, and
Sacraments are not in themselves religion—the work of
the Kingdom—but rather the indispensable source of
strengthening and stimulating power for performing that
religion, that work of "The Kingdom." Show that the
Incarnation, the Atonement, the coming of the Holy
Ghost were all necessary parts of this ideal of Christ.
The story of the founding of the Church in the early
chapters of the Acts is included as part of this
book. We cannot say that the Church is the perfect
embodiment of Christ's ideal; but it is the best
approach to it that humanity has attained. Like a
sculptor trying to embody a very noble conception in
very rough, intractable material, so is the Lord trying
to embody His ideal in imperfect humanity. It is very
rough, very imperfect; but it is in some degree
embodying the conception, and growing more desirous of
embodying it, we trust, as the ages go on. Try to make
the children feel sympathy with this longing of their
Master, to recognise all that they owe to Him, and to
see their duty towards that Kingdom of His into which
they came at Baptism. Let them think of Him as looking
lovingly down upon their individual lives, watching
eagerly to help them towards beautiful deeds, rejoicing
in their every struggle toward the right, and thinking
wistfully of the day when His desire shall be
accomplished; when, in the blessed streets of the
Kingdom above, He shall see of the travail of His
soul, and shall be satisfied."
Thus may you help to teach your children real religion;
not the religion of mere fruitless church-going; not
the religion of mere emotions and excitements, which we
hear so much of to-day, but the sound, manly,
common-sense religion taught them in the Church
Catechism, "to do my duty in that state of life unto
which it hath pleased God to call me."
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