"Shall I go on?" said Margaret, appealing to Ellice directly.
"Yes, please—I think I like it," answered the little girl.
With a smile Margaret continued:
"I said just now that Timothy was a plucky boy; I'll tell you why I think so. It is not pleasant to be laughed at for our religion, is it? We need a little courage when that happens; but think what it meant to Timothy to be a Christian. He not only risked being made fun of by other Jewish boys in Lystra, but he stood a chance of being put to death by the heathen, the worshippers of Jupiter, who lived in the same town with himself.
"When he was a little older, he joined St. Paul, and went with him on some of his preaching-tours, and was ordained a minister of the Gospel, and was arrested in Rome and made a prisoner just because he was a believer in Jesus Christ. We read in the Bible about his release from prison.
"Later he came to Ephesus, and was made Bishop of that great city while he was still a young man, and in St. Paul's first letter to him he writes and tells him how to manage his congregation; and to tell all the children to be good to their fathers and mothers, and as they get older to try and return some of the care they have received from them, by helping them all they can. He says, 'Let the children show kindness at home, and requite their parents, for that is good and acceptable with God.'
"And then he tells Timothy what he is to be like himself: how he is to show the world—that is, all in his own home, all in his congregations, all in that great heathen city—that he is really and truly a follower of Jesus Christ. He says, 'Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, conversation, charity, spirit, faith, purity.' Six things, you see, in which Timothy could prove his Christianity; six things God wanted of him; six things God expects of us if we are His soldiers and servants. It's no use our saying we love Him, unless we prove it to Him by our lives. I want you two, Bob and Ellice, to think about that for yourselves. Will you love the Lord Jesus Christ?—will you have Him for your King?"
The two appealed to so directly made no answer, but although there was silence, the question had gone home.
"If so," continued Margaret, "prove you are in earnest, for God says, 'If ye love Me, keep My commandments.'"
There was silence for a little. Ellice moved uneasily, but Bob sat gazing thoughtfully down the avenue, a new expression of seriousness on his merry face. He was a schoolboy, and not keen on pi talk, but this was different from anything he had heard before. Miss Woodford again took up the thread of the story.