Parable of the Indian Chiefs
Matthew 7:7-12
Illustration
by Staff

Said the great red one, "I am a mighty chief, and I want my son to follow in my footsteps and rule a great people. I want my son to be mighty and strong like me."

Said the young chief, "I do not want to be like my father. He is cruel and selfish and he brags over victories he has not won. He makes himself great by stepping on little ones. There is no greatness for the hunter who shoots chipmunks."

It is true in our modern day that many sons do not wish to pattern their lives after their father's, for unless the greatness has been won by true victories and in honest values, the children of even the most humble are quick to see the braggart in his own deception.

If father says he was a great ball player, but won't play catch with the son; if mother says she was a great swimmer, but won't don a bathing suit, the achievements of the past are lost in the sounds of the wind.

True merit is found in the companionship of parents with their children and first hand lessons of love and instructions. The merit of God's goodness to men is always found faithful with each person, who communes with God, not merely because of the greatness of bible heroes of the past, but of the real joy and power that is found in fellowship with God among the living.

CSS Publishing, Lima, Ohio, by Staff