When those boys become so good that they can be no better, they generally lie down, call all their playmates around them, deliver a farewell sermon, and then depart.

The mistake of that sort of life is that it makes religion unattractive.

It gives the idea that "the good die young," and that a jolly, genial, fun-loving boy, bubbling over sometimes with mischief, cannot be a Christian, when he is the very one that most pleases his heavenly Father.
Tom had his fun, his enjoyment, and now and then his crosses.

Such things are inevitable and must be looked for.

A thorn appeared in his side from the first.