The fourth, is the lesson taught us by this subject._ Or, to make the
points of the subject as short as possible, we may state them thus:
_The men. The work. The help. The lesson.
We begin then with speaking of_--THE MEN--_or the condition and
character of those whom Jesus chose to be his apostles or helpers_.
Now we might have thought that Jesus would have chosen his apostles,
or helpers, from among the angels of heaven. They are so wise, and
good, and strong, that we wonder why he did not choose them. But he
did not. He chose _men_ to be his apostles. And what kind of men did
he choose? If we had been asked this question beforehand, we should
have supposed that he would certainly have chosen the wisest and the
most learned men, the richest and greatest men that could be found in
the world. But it was not so. Instead of this he chose poor men,
unlearned men, men that were not famous at all; and who had not been
heard of before. Fishermen, and tax-gatherers, and men occupying very
humble positions in life, were those whom Jesus chose to be his
apostles.
And one reason, no doubt, why Jesus made choice of men of this
character to be his apostles was that when their work was done, no
one should be able to say that it was the learning, or wisdom, or
riches, or power of men by whom that work was accomplished. The
apostle Paul teaches us that this is the way in which God generally
acts; and that he does it for the very reason just spoken of. He
says, "God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound
the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to
confound the mighty; and base things of the world, and things which
are despised hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring
to nought the things that are; that no flesh should glory in his
presence." I. Cor. i: 27-29. The meaning of this passage is that God
loves to work by little things. This was the reason why Jesus chose
poor, unlearned fishermen to be his apostles. And we see God working
in the same way continually.
Look at yonder sun. God made it, and hung it up there in the sky that
it might give light to our world. But the light which this sun gives
comes to us in tiny little bits, smaller than the point of the finest
needle that ever was made. They are so small that hundreds of them
can rush right into our eyes, as they are doing all the time, and not
hurt them the least. Here we see how God makes use of little things,
and does a great work with them.
And then look at yonder ocean. The waves of that ocean are so
powerful that they can break in pieces the strongest ships that men
have ever built. And yet, when God wishes to keep that mighty ocean
in its place, he makes use of little grains of sand for this purpose.
Here again we see how God employs little things, and does a great
work with them. And we find God working in this way continually. Let
us look at one or two illustrations.
"What a Plant Did." A little plant was given to a sick girl. In
trying to take care of it, the family made changes in their way of
living, which added greatly to their comfort and happiness. First,
they cleaned the window, that more light might come in to the leaves
of the plant. Then, when not too cold, they opened the window, that
fresh air might help the plant to grow; and this did the family good,
as well as the plant. Next the clean window made the rest of the room
look so untidy that they washed the floor, and cleaned the walls, and
arranged the furniture more neatly. This led the father of the family
to mend a broken chair or two, which kept him at home several
evenings. After this, he took to staying at home with his family in
the evenings, instead of spending his time at the tavern; and the
money thus saved went to buy comforts for them all. And then, as
their home grew more pleasant, the whole family loved it better than
ever before, and they grew healthier and happier with their flowers.
What a little thing that plant was, and yet it was God's apostle to
that family! It did a great work for them in blessing them and making
them happy. And _that_ was work that an angel would have been glad to
do.
"Brought In by a Smile." A London minister said to a friend one day;
"Seven persons were received into my church last Sunday, and they
were all brought in by a smile."
"Brought in by a smile! Pray what do you mean?"
"Let me explain. Several months ago, as I passed a certain house on
my way to church, I saw, held in the arms of its nurse, a beautiful
infant; and as it fixed its bright black eyes on me, I smiled, and
the dear child returned the smile. The next Sabbath the babe was
again before the window. Again I smiled, and the smile was returned,
as before. The third Sabbath, as I passed by the window, I threw the
little one a kiss. Instantly its hand was extended and a kiss thrown
back to me. And so it came to pass that I learned to watch for the
baby on my way to church; and as the weeks went by, I noticed that
the nurse and the baby were not alone. Other members of the family
pressed to the window to see the gentleman who always had a smile for
the dear baby--the household pet.
"One Sunday morning, as I passed, two children, a boy and a girl,
stood at the window beside the baby. That morning the father and
mother had said to those children: 'Get ready for church, for we
think that the gentleman who always smiles to the baby is a minister.
When he passes you may follow him, and see where he preaches.'
"The children were quite willing to follow the suggestion of their
parents, and after I had passed, the door opened, and the children
stepped upon the pavement, and kept near me, till I entered my
church, when they followed me, and seats were given them.
"When they returned home, they sought their parents and eagerly
exclaimed: 'He is a minister, and we have found his church, and he
preached a beautiful sermon this morning. You must go and hear him
next Sunday.'
"It was not difficult to persuade the parents to go, and guided by
their children they found their way to the church. They, too, were
pleased, and other members of the family were induced to come to the
house of God. God blessed what they heard to the good of their souls,
and seven members of this family have been led to become Christians,
and join the church, and, I repeat what I said before: 'they were all
brought in by a smile.'"
What a little thing a smile is! And yet, here we see how God made use
of so small a thing as this, to make seven persons Christians, and to
save their souls forever! Of the God who can work in this way, it
may well be said that he loves to work by little things. It is the
way in which he is working continually.
How eagerly, then, we may try to learn and to practise what has been
very sweetly expressed in