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C r u s a d e N o v e m b e r / D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 6
The time to safeguard the home begins on the very first day of the marriage. Even before God blesses the union with a child, the home has been formed, and if its first development is not right, it cannot, as it enlarges, grow into the right kind of home.
How is the right start to be made? By living as God directs. Man and wife may soon be father and mother. Let them begin to lay the foundation for the family which God may enable them to rear.
First, man and wife must realize that they are subjects of Almighty God. They are not their own masters even in their own home. The Head Mas- ter of every home should be God. The home wherein God is supreme will be the right kind of home no matter what the environment or circum- stances may be.
As Christ Himself told us, we are made to live in this world but not for this world. Our life is a stew- ardship for ourselves, and also for those whom God entrusts to us. If we lose sight of this ac- countability and live merely for this life and to suit ourselves, our families will do the same. And in these days of home decay, no family can hold out against worldly assaults unless God be its defender and ruler.
Such is the basis of happy home life. To realize that we are placed on this earth to live for a cer- tain time as God directs, and not as we please, is to solve the riddle of life, and to find the key to a happy home.
For God places us here for a few years to test us, to find out if we are worthy of sharing His divinity forever in heaven. He permits the ups and downs of life that we may show ourselves true to Him. If we prove faithful, we shall become, in the end, chil- dren of God. Knowing this, we can bear our hard- ships patiently, and enjoy our good fortune with measure and gratitude. In all things we can ob- serve moderation. We will respect God and rever- ence His holy law.
Show me the man and wife who truly reverence God, and I shall show you the nucleus of a happy home. They may not be rich; God may not want them to be. They may not have high social posi- tion; God may be pleased to keep them lowly. But they will have the substantial peace which comes from knowing that they are friends of God, and that whenever He calls them, they are ready to meet Him as friends dear to Him. The man and wife living in this way are safe and secure amid all the dangers of modern life.
If their children are brought up with the same respect for God, they will be good sons and daughters, no matter what their environment. If there is trouble in some families it is because the parents do not respect God or each other, and in consequence the children do not respect their parents. If little ones are brought up from the very beginning to love God and obey Him, they will also love and obey their parents.
Nowadays, when, on account of business and the customs of society, children are left so much to themselves, it is very essential that they have within themselves a safeguard for virtue and a motive for devotion to the family. It is simply impossible to make people virtuous or devoted by worldly means.
The world is essentially selfish, and worldly motives will make people virtuous and devoted only so long as it profits them to be so. Virtue and family stabil- ity demand sacrifice. The greatest incentive to sac- rifice in the whole world is love of God.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]""""[vc_column_text]From the book You and Yours: Practical Talks on Home Life, pp. 4-6.
Christ in the Home
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