"Whosoever therefore shall confess Me before men, him will I confess also
before My Father which is in heaven."
Tip was very undecided what to do. He went out on the steps and looked
about him in the moonlight; then he came in and took a long look out of
the window. At last the question, whatever it was, seemed to be settled.
He turned with a resolute air to Kitty who was washing the tea-dishes.
"Kitty, don't you want to go to prayer-meeting up at the church?"
Kitty dropped her cup back into the dish-pan and stood looking at him, a
good deal surprised. At last she said,--
"I'd like to, Tip, but I don't look decent to go anywhere. I've only this
dress and my old hood."
"I wouldn't mind that," said Tip. "I've only this awful old jacket
either, but I mean to go. Hurry up the dishes, and let's go."
"Well," said Kitty at last, "I _will_; but what will mother say?"
"I'll fix that." And Tip stepped softly into the bedroom. "Are you better
to-night, father?"
"Not much better, I guess. How's arithmetic to-day?"
"First-rate; Mr. Burrows said I was getting ahead fast. Mother, may Kitty
go out with me to-night? I'm going up to the church to prayer-meeting."
Mrs. Lewis turned from the basket where she had been hunting long, and as
yet in vain, for a piece of flannel, and bent a searching bewildered look
on her son.
"I don't care," she said at last; "she can go if she likes; but I doubt
if she will."
She _did_, however; in ten minutes more the two were walking along the
snowy path. Kitty was sober. "Tip," she said presently, "don't you never
get real awful _mad_, so mad that you feel as if you'd choke if you
couldn't speak right out at somebody?"
"Well, no," said Tip, "not often. Yes, I do too; I get mad at Bob
Turner sometimes, mad enough to pitch him into a snow-bank; but it
don't last long."
"Well, mine does," said Kitty. "I begin in the morning; something makes
me cross, and I keep on getting crosser and crosser every minute, till it
seems as if I should fly. Do you suppose I'll always do just so?"
"No," answered Tip positively, "I _don't_. You keep on trying a little
bit harder every day, and by and by you'll find that you don't get cross
more than half as easy as you used to. I know it will be so, because
I've tried it in other things: when I first began to behave myself in
school, it was the _hardest_ work--my! You can think how I wanted to
whisper, and things kept happening all the time to make me laugh, but I
just kept trying, and now I hardly ever think of whispering. Kitty, does
mother know?"
"No," said Kitty, "she don't."
"If I were you, I'd tell her."
"Oh, Tip, I can't! She never looks at me without scolding me; I can't
talk to her about this."
"Yes, you can; I'd surely do it if I were you. It will be a great deal
easier to try hard if mother knows you are trying."
They were almost at the church door.
"Kitty," said Tip suddenly, "let's pray for father to-night. I've been
praying for him this long time; you help me."
Step by step, God was leading Tip Lewis in the narrow way. No sooner was
he seated in the bright, warm little room, and had listened to Mr.
Holbrook's earnest prayer, that every Christian there might do something
for Christ that night, than the struggle began: what ought he to do for
Christ? People all around him were, one after another, offering prayer or
saying a few words. Ought he to? Could he? Oh, he couldn't! Who would
want to listen to him? It wouldn't do any good. There was Mr. Burrows
right in front of him; he would be ashamed of him, perhaps. Yes, but
then, ought he not to own his Saviour? Mr. Holbrook had spoken of the
verse, "Whosoever will deny me before men," and had made the meaning very
plain. Mr. Minturn had just prayed that no one there might be ashamed of
Christ. The end of it all was, that Tip slipped off his seat down on his
knees, and said, "Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name.
Show me how to pray. I don't want to deny Christ. I want to love Him. I
want the boys in our school, and my father, and everybody to love Him.
I'll try to work for Jesus. I'll try to work for Him. Help me every day,
and forgive my sins for Jesus' sake. Amen."
Tip had never felt so near to God as he did when he arose from his knees.
Mr. Holbrook's voice trembled with feeling, when, soon after, he prayed
for the young disciple who had early taken up his cross.
At the close of the meeting, the minister pressed his way through the
little company of people who were waiting to speak with him.
"Good evening, all," he said hurriedly. "Excuse me to-night, brother," to
Mr. Minturn, who would have stopped him any way; "I want to speak to some
people before they get away from me;" and those who watched, saw him
hurry on until he overtook Tip Lewis and his sister.
"Good evening, Edward. This is Kitty, I think. How do you do, my little
girl? Edward, do you know such a Bible verse as this: 'I love the Lord,
because He has heard my voice and my supplication'?"
"No, sir," answered Tip eagerly; "_is_ there such a verse?"
"Yes, somewhere in the Psalms you will find it. I don't remember just
where. Can you feel the truth of it when you think of your sister?"
"Yes, sir, I _can_. God _did_ hear me."
"And you think you love Jesus to-night, Kitty?"
Kitty felt a great awe for the minister, and her "Yes, sir," was low, and
spoken in a timid voice.
"What makes you think so?"
"I--I don't know; only I pray, and He hears me, and I like to."
"Well, now, Kitty, almost the first thing which people think of after
they have found Jesus, is something to do for Him; they begin to look
around to see what they can find. What are you going to do?"
"I don't know, sir; I haven't got anything I can do."
"Ah, that's a mistake! you can find plenty of work if you look for it;
only don't look too far, because it is the little bits of things which
come right in your way that Jesus wants you to do. When you brush up the
room, and set the table neatly, and brighten the fire, and do little
thoughtful things that help your mother, then you are pleasing Jesus,
doing work for Him. Isn't it pleasant to think that in all those little
things He is watching over you, and that you make Him glad when you do
them well? Do you know that one of God's commands is, 'Honour thy father
and thy mother'?"
"No," said Kitty softly.
"It is; those are the very words; Edward can find them for you in the
Bible; and honour means more than obey; it means, try to please them in
the very smallest things."
They were very near the corner where Mr. Holbrook must leave them. He
laid his hand gently on Tip's shoulder, as he said, "Speaking of Bible
verses, Edward, I have one for you this evening, in the Saviour's own
words: 'Whosoever shall confess Me before men, him will I also confess
before My Father which is in heaven.' Good-night."
Tip understood him, and there was a bright look in his eyes. The two
walked on in silence for a little. Presently Kitty said, "I guess Mr.
Holbrook don't know just how mother is, or he wouldn't talk so."
"Yes, but," said Tip quickly, "God knew all about it always, you know;
and yet He said that verse."
"So He did," answered Kitty gravely.