human
Take us the foxes, the little foxes, etc., we could illustrate the danger and influence of little evils or sins by saying: Chemists tell us that a single grain of iodine will color 7000 times its weight in water; so a little sin may discolor and destroy a good character. A ruined man once said:
gpt
It was that ten minutes on the street-corner, reading a bad book, that destroyed my whole life.
human
It was that penny I stole when a very young boy, said an old man,
gpt
No man can serve two masters, etc., let the teacher say:
human
The other day I saw two men together walking down the avenue, and a little dog was running behind them; so they went on for a while, and I wondered to which of them the dog belonged. When they came to the corner of a certain street they shook hands and went opposite ways. Then I saw at once to which of them the little dog belonged. He could not follow both; so he trotted after his master. So, dear children, it is with you; you may try to be Christ's servants and the servants of Satan at the same time, but it will be in vain; 'You cannot serve God and mammon.'
gpt
Eve and the forbidden fruit.
human
Old Humphrey, the English writer for children, abounded in pertinent illustrations. I copy one:
gpt
Think not that because you look like other teachers or scholars, and undertake the same duties, that no difference is seen by those around you. You may look alike and be altogether different.
human
I came to two frozen ponds, so much alike in size and form that at the first view one might have been regarded as the counterpart of the other. This was, however, very far from being the case; for, after making a hole in the ice, I found one to be only a few inches deep, while with my stick I could not reach the bottom of the other.
gpt
I picked up two walnuts as they lay among the dry leaves, under the tree on which they had grown; both were large, and I thought that each would be good; but, no! one was altogether hollow, while the other contained a capital kernel.
human
I bought two apples at a fruit-stand--ruddy and ripe; I do not believe the man who sold them to me could have pointed out any difference between them; and yet, for all this, when I came to turn them around and examine them, I found one of them to be firm and sound, and the other rotten to the very core.
gpt
As it was with the ponds, the walnuts, and the apples, so it may be with you. Some are shallow, while others have depth of understanding; some have depth of understanding, while others are shallow; some are full of knowledge, while others are empty; and some are firm and to be relied upon, while others are unsound at their hearts.
human
The kingdom of heaven is _likened_ unto, or is
gpt
etc. Said an old divine to a young preacher:
human
I see you do not follow Christ's example in your preaching; for you have no '_likes_' in your sermons.
gpt
Spiritual Honey from Natural Hives. I do not know but it is now out of print; but it contained no less than 258 illustrations of various passages of Scripture--all drawn from the honey-bee, and most of them were valuable. For example:
human
Mercy comes naturally from God, like honey from the bee; but justice, like the sting, only when she is provoked.
gpt
If nature teaches the bee not only to gather honey out of sweet flowers, but out of bitter, shall not grace teach us to draw, even out of the bitterest condition, something to better our souls?
human
Many hate not sin, nor fly from it, because it is _sin_; but as children do bees; not because they are bees, but because they have a _sting_. So do these persons flee from sin; not because it is _sinful_, but because it is _hurtful_.
gpt
If you do but take and pierce God's word, and do but stay upon it, as the bee doth on the flower, and _will not off_ till you have got something out of it; if you still be digging in this mine, this will make you rich in knowledge; and if you be rich in knowledge, it will make you rich in grace. Finally:
human
Some use flowers only for the beauty or the smell; the physicians, for health; the bees, for honey; so do wise and prudent persons apply their studies for the enriching and feeding of their minds.
gpt
Suppose you wished to separate a quantity of brass and steel filings mixed together in one vessel; how would you effect this separation? Apply a loadstone, and immediately every particle of iron will attach itself to it, while the brass filings remain behind. Thus, if we see a company of true and false professors of religion, we may not be able to distinguish them; but let Christ come among them, and all His sincere followers will be attracted towards Him, as the steel is drawn to the magnet, while those who have none of His spirit will remain at a distance. Again: On a visit to a weeping mother, who refused to be comforted for the loss of a beloved child:
human
Suppose, now, said he,
gpt
The mother smiled through her tears at the thought that her jewel was taken from her but for a season, and said, in meek submission:
human
The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.