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Chapter 29—The Builders of the Home
He who gave Eve to Adam as a helpmeet, performed His first
miracle at a marriage festival. In the festal hall where friends and
kindred rejoiced together, Christ began His public ministry. Thus He
sanctioned marriage, recognizing it as an institution that He Himself
had established. He ordained that men and women should be united
in holy wedlock, to rear families whose members, crowned with
honor, should be recognized as members of the family above.
Christ honored the marriage relation by making it also a symbol
of the union between Him and His redeemed ones. He Himself is
the Bridegroom; the bride is the church, of which, as His chosen
one, He says, “Thou art all fair, My love; there is no spot in thee.”
Song of Solomon 4:7
.
Christ “loved the church, and gave Himself for it; that He might
sanctify and cleanse it; ... that it should be holy and without blemish.”
“So ought men to love their wives.”
Ephesians 5:25-28
.
The family tie is the closest, the most tender and sacred, of any
on earth. It was designed to be a blessing to mankind. And it is a
blessing wherever the marriage covenant is entered into intelligently,
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in the fear of God, and with due consideration for its responsibilities.
Those who are contemplating marriage should consider what
will be the character and influence of the home they are founding.
As they become parents, a sacred trust is committed to them. Upon
them depends in a great measure the well-being of their children
in this world, and their happiness in the world to come. To a great
extent they determine both the physical and the moral stamp that the
little ones receive. And upon the character of the home depends the
condition of society; the weight of each family’s influence will tell
in the upward or the downward scale.
The choice of a life companion should be such as best to secure
physical, mental, and spiritual well-being for parents and for their
children—such as will enable both parents and children to bless their
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fellow men and to honor their Creator.
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