FOR this lesson procure parts of the flag and on some background put
them together according to the diagram until you have made the perfect
flag (see diagram). You will then notice the flag marked "I" has no
red stripes in it, and therefore is not perfect. It has six stripes
only; so in the making of a Christian if the blood has not been
applied and sins washed away, there can be no true Christian Life.
Figure 2.--No white stripes and only seven stripes in all. If there is
no white in the life, there is no Christian Life. It is short of the
standard of thirteen stripes. Only seven appear here.
Figure 3.--Red and white stripes appear, not thirteen but eleven. In
the making of a Christian there cannot be a perfect Christian with
some of the commandments left out. He that fails in one is guilty of
all.
Figure 4.--Here we see the field but the stars left out. This is not
the flag of the U.S.A. That man who calls himself a Christian without
the Star of Bethlehem is not a New Testament Christian.
Figure 5.--Here we have nothing but stripes--no blue field. This is
not the national banner of our country. It lacks the one thing--the
blue. In making of the Christian we must not lack one thing; if we do,
the life is rejected. "One thing thou lackest:" Such a life cannot
have the mark of a Christian.
Figure 6.--All stars and no stripes. This cannot be the National flag
of our people. The number of stars is correct, but the red and white
stripes are missing. In the making of a Christian if we lack the red
of the Blood, and the White of right living we cannot pass as the
Bible Christian in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Figure 7.--Here we note sixteen stripes and fifty stars. This would
also be rejected. Congress stipulates a banner of thirteen stripes and
forty-eight stars; that alone constitutes the lawful banner of
America. In the making of a Christian, we must not add to that life
what is not given in the law. No other doctrine can be mixed with
God's truth. Just God's word alone, nothing added from the worldly
philosophy or the worldly wisdom of man.
Figure 8.--This is the old Colonial flag. A wonderful flag of the
past, but not the mighty flag of today. So in the making of a
Christian, the past will not suffice. We must grow, in grace, and have
an experience up to date.
[Illustration: A variety of American flags labelled 1 through 10]
Figure 9.--This is the American flag with a foreign mark upon it. It
is not truly American. It would be rejected by the government of the
United States. So in the making of a Christian, all marks of another
government must be cast out. Jesus only. God and not mammon, must
obtain.
Figure 10.--Is the correct picture of the flag according to the laws
of the nation. So in the making of the Christian, we must be according
to the Pattern. We must do His commandments to bear His family name of
Christian. Thus we can learn from the making of the flag to make a
Christian.
=CHAPTER IX
THE HAND OF FAITH=
_Objects: The Fingers of the Human Hand_