Chapter 17—Marriage, Home, Family
The measure of your Christianity is gauged by the character of your
home life. The grace of Christ enables its possessors to make the
home a happy place full of peace and rest.—
The Signs of the Times,
November 14, 1892
Marriage
God’s Original Design—God celebrated the first marriage. Thus
the institution has for its originator the Creator of the universe. “Mar-
riage is honourable” (
Hebrews 13:4
); it was one of the first gifts of
God to man, and it is one of the two institutions that, after the Fall,
Adam brought with him beyond the gates of Paradise. When the divine
principles are recognized and obeyed in this relation, marriage is a
blessing; it guards the purity and happiness of the race, it provides for
man’s social needs, it elevates the physical, the intellectual, and the
moral nature.—
Patriarchs and Prophets, 46 (1890)
.
Marriage a Sacred Institution—Marriage has received Christ’s
blessing, and it is to be regarded as a sacred institution. True religion
is not to counterwork the Lord’s plans. God ordained that man and
woman should be united in holy wedlock, to raise up families that,
crowned with honor, would be symbols of the family in heaven. And at
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the beginning of His public ministry Christ gave His decided sanction
to the institution that had been sanctioned in Eden. Thus He declared
to all that He will not refuse His presence on marriage occasions,
and that marriage, when joined with purity and holiness, truth and
righteousness, is one of the greatest blessings ever given to the human
family.—
The Signs of the Times, August 30, 1899
.
Each Has Individual Responsibilities—The two who unite their
interest in life will have distinct characteristics and individual respon-
sibilities. Each one will have his or her work, but women are not to be
valued by the amount of work they can do as are beasts of burden. The
wife is to grace the family circle as a wife and companion to a wise
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