◄ Travail ►

Feed the flock of God which is among you. . . being examples to the flock" (1 Pet. 5:2, 3).

It is one thing to teach, but quite another to cultivate, nurture, and bring to maturity. "There are ten thousand tutors," but "not many fathers." Not many who are willing to know the conformity to death which brings the travail for souls, in fellowship with Him who travailed on the Cross for us.

"We must not expect to win healthy souls or lead them on into spiritual maturity without long travail. If it becomes Him for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings, who are we that we should expect easily to bring many sons to glory? My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you,' that is what we must expect. And when this travail comes we must go through with it, not try to escape it." -C.A.C.

"Probably friendship is second only to prayer in its importance in soul-winning. With sincerity to offer one's friendship to another is an almost certain way to gain an opportunity to speak an effective word for the Lord. But can one introduce two people to each other if one is a friend of only one? How can we introduce someone to the Lord Jesus if we know only Him, but not the poor lost sinner?

"The life with the most favorable beginning will come to maturity the soonest. Let us aim at well-born souls. Let us seek to do more careful sowing, so as to send babes in Christ into the world handicapped as little as possible at the beginning. Moreover, let us remember that our own level oft-times determines the level of those we lead to the Saviour."

"Nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine" (1 Tim. 4:6).