Home Responsibilty
Faithfulness in Home - Better Leader of the Flock—I beseech
you for Christ’s sake to cut away this spirit of harshness and censure.
You need a mother’s tender love. You need the Christ-love. Then you
will not chide for every mistake; you will have something of the same
patience toward these lambs of the flock that Christ has manifested
toward you. Then God will accept your labors for others. When you
faithfully bear the responsibilities in your own home, you will be better
prepared to bear the responsibility of feeding the flock of God and
especially of manifesting the Saviour’s tender care for the lambs of
the flock.
Will you both seek to bring the truth into the inner sanctuary of the
soul? Will you, if brought into connection with your children, exercise
that charity that suffereth long and is kind? Will you bring the same
meekness and gentleness of Christ into your labors for the church?
Will you guard your lips so as not to utter one word of fault finding,
but kindly instruct?
No longer lay upon the foundation stone, wood, hay and stubble,
perishable material which will be burned, but lay thereon gold, silver,
and precious stones that will be valuable for all time, and enduring
as eternity. You must love the Lord supremely. He cannot accept
halfhearted service, work that is negligently performed. His curse is
upon all those who do the work of God deceitfully or negligently. You
have been on the losing side. You have not kept your lamp trimmed
and burning. As you both now stand you cannot indeed be a light to
the world in good works.—
Letter 23, 1890
, p. 9 (January 6, 1890 to
Brother Stone).
Leaders to be Examples—All parents should strive to make their
families patterns of good works, perfect Christian households. But in
a pre-eminent degree is this the duty of those who minister in sacred
things, and to whom the people look for instruction and guidance?
The ministers of Christ are to be examples to the flock. He who fails
to direct his own household, is not qualified to guide the church of
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