THE FAMILY ALTAR

July 17.

"As new-born babes, desire the sincere milk of the Word, that

ye may grow thereby; if so be ye have tasted that the Lord is

gracious." 1 Pet. 2, 2. 3.

By faith we are born again and made blessed children of God.

But we are not to remain "babes/' weak and feeble in faith, but

are to grow in the knowledge of saving truth and to walk securely

and firmly in the ways of God. As new-born babes can thrive

only on pure milk, so our faith can grow strong only through

the "sincere milk of the Word"; and we shall hunger for it and

never grow tired ai it, no matter how old we grow in years, if we

have tasted how gracious the Lord has been to us. Good, pure

milk gives new "life and strength even to old men and women.

Now, there is a precious little book that contains the sincere milk

of the faith-sustaining Word of God in most palatable form.

That book is known as Luther's Small Catechism. Leopold Eanke,

the great historian, writes of this blessed book: "The Catechism

which Luther published in 1529, and of which he says that, as

old a Doctor as he was, he himself used it as his prayer, is as

childlike as it is profound, as easy of grasp as it is unfathomable,

as simple as it is sublime. Happy the man who nourishes his soul

with it, who clings to it ! For every moment he possesses a change-

less consolation; he has under a thin shell that kernel of truth

which is enough for the wisest of the wise." This little book Jbas

proved of inestimable blessing to the Church in the past. It has

been very aptly called the "layman's Bible," for it planted the

knowledge of Christ's saving truth in the hearts of countless

millions of the common people. If things in the Church nowadays

are to change for the better, we shall have to return to a more

devoted use of the Catechism in our homes, in our Sunday-schools,

and in our churches. The prevailing indifference to pure Gospel-

doctrine in many Lutheran church-bodies, the woeful ignorance

of even the simplest Bible-truths we meet with so often are chiefly

due to our sad neglect of the Catechism. We parents, teachers,

and, above ally our pastors must learn to drill the Catechism into

our children and people, as did our Lutheran forefathers who

thought so highly of the precious little book that they made it

one of the Confessions of our Church.

Lord, grant that we e'er pure retain

The catechismal doctrine plain,

As Luther taught the heavenly truth

In simple words to tender youth.