DO YOU "MATCH"?



PLEASE, aunt Mary, draw me a picture! I'm sure I can paint it."

The childish voice by my side was full of entreaty; and I smothered a rising sigh as I laid aside my writing for the twentieth time at least, and began to draw a picture of a most wonderful dog for my little niece. 

"Make his ears match, auntie, won't you?" she asked, anxiously watching my busy pencil.

"Sure enough, Ruth!" I said. Who knows but you'll make a wonderful artist some day; for you have 'a good eye' to begin with."

"But I have two good eyes, dear auntie, and both of them blue."

"Why do you suppose our heavenly Father did not make you with one eye blue, and the other one black?" I asked.

"Because, because he likes things to match too, I guess, as well as me."

"Yes, 'he likes things to match,' I'm sure," I said slowly. "You live in a good house, Ruth, and you have a good father and mother, good things to eat, good clothes to wear, good water to drink, and such a dear, good Heavenly Father, who gives them all to you. What sort of a girl do you think he expects you to be to match these? "

"A good girl," she answered promptly.

"And are you always good, dear?"

"No, auntie, not 'always.'"

"Then, when God looks down, it must seem to him as if little Ruth did not 'match' with her surroundings."

"I'm 'fraid it must," said Ruth mournfully.

"Why aren't we always good, you and auntie?" I asked.

"Oh! Because, because our hearts don't match the good things."

"What sort of hearts have we, Ruthie?"

"Bad hearts, I suppose; but you told us that Jesus would give us good ones, you know."

“Yes, but the bad heart does not go entirely away when the good one comes; 

that's the worst of it. Only we're so very sorry when we do wrong, that Jesus forgives us.

"I remember when I was a little girl, of seeing a picture of two hearts, and inside each there were words written. Oh, how I used to study them over and over again, and think about their meaning!"

"Won't you draw me two hearts, auntie, please? And write some words in them just like those you used to see?"

By this time the wonderful dog was fully completed; and upon the other side of the paper I drew two large hearts, in which I wrote,

LOVE, JOY,

LONG-SUFFERING,

FAITH, PEACE,

GENTLENESS,

GOODNESS, 

MEEKNESS, 

TEMPERANCE.

WRATH,  MALICE,

BITTERNESS, 

UNREST, UNBELIEF, 

EVIL SPEAKING, 

ANGER, CLAMOR, 

SELFISHNESS.



Ruth was so much pleased that she sat down upon the stool by my side a long, long time, studying over the words; then she carefully pinned them upon the paper in her little room where she would be sure to see them every morning, quite forgetting about the big dog which I had drawn upon the other side.