f
ourselves."

Mr. Richmond paused a little.

"I have no reason to think that any of you did not mean true service,
when the pledge was given the other night. So now let us see how this
true service shows itself.

"Jesus said, you remember, 'If any man serve me, let him follow me.'
All we have to ask is, How did the Lord himself walk, that we should
follow Him? I recommend you to study the story of His life very
carefully and very constantly, and be continually getting new lessons
from it. But now let us look just at one or two points.

"Jesus said, 'As long as I am in the world, I am the Light of the
world.' Has he commanded us to be anything like that?"

One of the boys answered, "Let your light so shine before men, that
they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in
heaven."

"How can our light shine?"

"Doing good," another boy answered.

"Being good," said one of the girls.

"Very well; but what is there in doing and being good which has any
resemblance to light? What does light do?"

"It shows things," a boy said.

"There's no darkness where the light comes," said a little girl.

"Quite true; but how does our doing good and being good, 'show things'?
What does it show?"

After a little hesitation a voice replied, "It shows what is right."

"It shows what people ought to do," a boy said.

"It shows what is the will of God about us," said Mr. Richmond; "and
the more exactly we are obedient to that will and conformed to it, the
more brightly do we give light. And do you see? our light-giving
depends on what we _are_. We give no light, except just so far as we
are ourselves what God wills us to be. And then it shines out in all
sorts of ways. I knew a little girl whose eyes were like two pure
lamps, always; they were so loving and clear and true. I have known
several people whose voices gave light as much as harmony; they were so
sweet with the tones of a glad heart and a conscience at peace. I have
seen faces that shone, almost like angel faces, with the love of God
and the joy of heaven and the love of their fellow-men. Now this is the
first thing the Lord calls us to be in His service--His light-bearers.
The light comes from Him; we must get it from Him; and then we must
shine! And of course our actions give light too, if they are obedient
to the will of God. A boy who keeps the Sabbath holy is almost as good
as a sermon to a boy who doesn't. One who refuses to touch the offer