Still a third
might be the compassion and forgiveness of the father, as typical of
those same qualities in our heavenly Father. Which, to you, is the most
forceful and significant? That one to you is _your_ best aim.
The wording of the aim is a matter that gives rise to a good bit of
disagreement. There are those who maintain that if the aim announces the
subject as a sort of heading that is sufficient. Others contend that the
aim should crystallize into axiomatic form the thought of the lesson. Of
course, the real force of the aim lies in its serving as the focus of
thought. The wording of it is of secondary importance. And yet it is
very excellent practice to reduce to formal statement the truth to be
presented. It is helpful to adopt the ruling that the aim should express
both a cause and a result. Perhaps an illustration would indicate the
difference between the aim stated as a mere heading, and stated fully
and formally. Take the case of the daughter of Jairus already referred
to,
_Mere Headings_:
Daughter of Jairus restored, or
The power of faith.
_Formal Aim_:
Implicit faith in God wins His choicest blessings.
Surely the latter is a more significant expression and offers better
training to the teacher than the setting down of mere headings.
Pages:
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159