The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1932, Page 22

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i GORGE WIEN

22

THE LUTHERAN PIONEER

who trust in Him. I could have told you this
before because teacher told us.”

Tears of joy began to gather in the listener’s
eyes, and his heart shouted praises to God who had
moved the Christians’ hearts to support our missions
and had made little Eliza a little Christian and
a missionary.

With joy and praise filling his heart the mis-
sionary now gently tapped at the door. Hurriedly,
as he noticed, —his eyes had by this time become
accustomed to the darkness, — little Eliza shoved
the Bible History under her granny’s pillow. Then
Granny asked the missionary to come in.

During the course of this visit the missionary
learned many more things, things that increased his
joy. Little Eliza, so he was told, very frequently
had read stories to her grandmother from her Lu-
theran Bible History, and the old woman had always
enjoyed hearing them. “That child and your Lu-
theran school,” she would say again and again, “have
been a real blessing to me. Once I knew nothing
about Jesus, except that He died on the cross. But
now I know that He died on the cross for me poor
wretch and saved me from hell.”

Through all this the “forgotten house” has be-
come an unforgotten one to all who have heard this
story. May it remain unforgotten also to you, and
at every remembrance of it fill your heart with
gladness; for you have helped two precious blood-
bought souls that lived in it to Jesus and on the
way to heaven.

Little Eliza is now baptized and confirmed and
a faithful member of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church.
And her aged granny still thankfully thinks of the
days when Jesus, the Light, arose in her heart and
illumined it with the rays of His divine love.

New Orleans, La. E. H. Witpcrvse.

Peter’s Denial.

Peter was a little boy who attended one of the
schools of our Colored Missions. He was a fine
chap and gave his teacher much joy by his willing-

_ ness to learn and his pleasing ways. He was par-

ticularly proud of his name, having heard so much
about the Apostle Peter in the Bible History lessons.

In the Bible History lesson one day the teacher
was telling his pupils about the sufferings of Jesus;
how Peter and James and John had been selected by

_ the Lord to accompany Him farther into the
_ shadows of the Garden of Gethsemane, while the
_ other disciples waited at the entrance. At mention

of this incident, little Peter moved his head a little
and looked around the room to see if his fellow-
pupils had taken notice and were fully realizing the
special favor shown to his namesake Peter. The
teacher went on with the story.

When he told how Peter struck a man with his
sword in order to help Jesus, Peter’s eyes blazed
with pride, and he involuntarily cried out, “Good
for Peter!” As the lesson proceeded and the Savior
was captured and led away, Peter’s face flushed with
anger. “All the disciples forsook Him and fled,” °
continued the teacher. Peter rocked impatiently to
and fro. It could plainly be seen that he was per-
plexed at this remark of the teacher. He was plainly
concerned about his namesake and hero Peter. What
about him? Where was he?

Then came the terrible and shameful scenes in
the house of the high priest, the trial, the blow on
the cheek, and the final sentence. This was fol-
lowed by the teacher’s telling the children of the
scourging of Jesus at the pillar by Pilate’s soldiers,
His crowning with thorns, and all the degrading
insults offered our Lord at every step of His Passion.
Very quietly the children listened to the Story of
stories; sadly and intently they listened. Only
Peter let his feelings get the best of him, and he
showed it, too. The tale of sorrows still went on,
For the last time Pilate asked, “What, then, shall
I do with Jesus, which is called the Christ?” The
Jews again cried, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”
No one spoke up for Jesus. Not a soul in that great
multitude pleaded in His behalf. Peter could con-
tain himself no longer; he sprang up and with an
excited voice, regardless of everything and every-
body there, “Teacher, where was Peter, where was
Peter?”

And then the teacher had to tell that story of
Peter’s pride and self-trust, his sad denial of his
Lord, ending with the well-known incidents of the
crowing of the cock and Peter’s bitter tears.

Like Peter of old little Peter was utterly cast
down and silent, seemingly overwhelmed at the
thought of the Savior’s abandonment and Peter’s
strange cowardice. Though it brought him great
pain of heart, little Peter evidently learned the
lesson that even the greatest of saints are only weak
human beings without the sustaining grace of the
Lord; for little Peter was more subdued after that.
He had become a more chastened follower of his
Savior and plainly showed his desire to be His faith-
ful disciple. Though he still bore the name of the
great apostle with pride, this pride had become
purified of much dross. F. J. L.