irituality holds
communion with God and heavenly things. He does not trust to human powers,
but in the power of the divine life.

Moral life will not admit us into the paradise above. We must possess
spiritual life--the life of Christ. It is well to train our children in the
way of good morals with a view to leading them into the spiritual life.
Then it is necessary to lead them into the spiritual life to aid in the
moral training. Comparatively few parents have accomplished any great
results in the moral training of their children without divine assistance.
In the moral derangement of our children the inward tendency to immorality
makes it impossible to educate them to a true and perfect standard of
morality without God's aid. Have we and our children no other source of
strength to do battle with the evil passions but the force of the human
will? Who has succeeded in subduing or controlling an angry disposition in
themselves or their children to the extent that there is no impatient
speech or abrupt action, by their own will power? We admit that some
men--as the ancient heathen philosophers--have succeeded in educating
themselves to a high standard of morality by using all the power of the
human will as a vigilant police force and carefully avoiding occasions of
temptation. It is said of one of these philosophers that in order to
absent himself from the races and games and bull-fights and other worldly
gatherings he would only shave one-half of his face, thereby making
himself too ridiculous in appearance to assemble among men. Such is the
struggle to attain any moral excellence without divine assistance.

Children should be taught what sin is, and of God's judgments against it,
and as early in life as possible be led by instruction and seeking the aid
of the Holy Spirit into a Christian experience. Some seem to think that
children have no correct ideas of God, and never feel the influence of his
Spirit. In this they may be mistaken. The tender heart of a child very
often receives a deep and sacred impression by the Holy Spirit. Were we
watchful and took advantage of these seasons to tell them of God and
heaven we would be workers together with him, and he would reward us by
faithful children. The communication of the Spirit with the hearts of
children is more wonderful and frequent than we may sometimes understand.
A lady recently told us that her parents never taught her to pray, but
very early in life she was inclin