Obedience to the Truth
505
greatest advantage. You are a man whom a spare diet will benefit. You
were in danger of being stricken down in a moment by paralysis, one
half of you becoming dead. A denial of appetite is salvation to you,
yet you view it as a great privation.
The reason why the youth of the present age are not more reli-
giously inclined is because of the defect in their education. It is not true
love exercised toward children which permits in them the indulgence
of passion, or allows disobedience of parental laws to go unpunished.
“Just as the twig is bent the tree is inclined.” The mother should ever
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have the co-operation of the father in her efforts to lay the foundation
of a good Christian character in her children. A doting father should
not close his eyes to the faults of his children because it is not pleasant
to administer correction. You both need to arouse and with firmness,
not in a harsh manner, but with determined purpose, let your children
know they must obey you.
A father must not be as a child, moved merely by impulse. He is
bound to his family by sacred, holy ties. Every member of the family
centers in the father. His name, “house-band,” is the true definition of
husband. He is the lawmaker, illustrating in his own manly bearing the
sterner virtues, energy, integrity, honesty, and practical usefulness. The
father is in one sense the priest of the household, laying upon the altar
of God the morning and evening sacrifice, while the wife and children
unite in prayer and praise. With such a household Jesus will tarry,
and through His quickening influence the parents’ joyful exclamations
shall yet be heard amid more exalted scenes, saying: “Behold, I and
the children whom the Lord hath given me.” Saved, saved, eternally
saved! freed from the corruption that is in the world through lust, and
through the merits of Christ made heirs of immortality! I saw that
but few fathers realize their responsibility. They have not learned to
control themselves, and until this lesson is learned they will make poor
work in governing their children. Perfect self-control will act as a
charm upon the family. When this is attained, a great victory is gained.
Then they can educate their children to self-control.
My heart yearns over the church at-----, for there is a work to be
accomplished there. It is God’s design to have a people in that place.
There is material there for a good church, but there is considerable
work to be done to remove the rough edges and prepare them for
working order, that all may labor unitedly and draw in even cords.