Article August 18, 1945 Issue

Sunday School Observations

During a period of teaching very young children in a Christian Science Sunday School class, I was able satisfactorily to meet the belief of occasional restlessness and inattentiveness in the following manner. With a sincere desire for spiritual alertness and understanding, I pondered over and tried to embrace in my own consciousness the childlike qualities which Christ Jesus recognized in little children as necessary for entrance into the kingdom of heaven. One of the outstanding qualities was found to be joyous gratitude, which a little child naturally expresses.

Sometimes when the children were restless they were invited to be very still for a few seconds and think of the good things God had done for us, and to thank Him for these blessings. This was followed by relating to one another that for which they were thankful. These expressions of gratitude proved to be useful in the learning of the Ten Commandments, the Lord's Prayer, and its spiritual interpretation by Mary Baker Eddy (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, pp. 16, 17), and the Sermon on the Mount.

One child was thankful for Sunday school, where he learned that he could not be hurt and made to cry, because God has made everything good. Keeping my thought close to divine Mind to meet the need of this child and destroy any latent fear, I was led to read Exodus 20:8-11, and to give to his waiting heart the simpler meaning of this commandment, stating that God's work is done. Within the next few days the child made a very beautiful demonstration for himself over an injury incurred while at play, because he had learned to know that God's work is done.

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