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Testimonies for the Church Volume 5
the place where God meets with and blesses His people. The high and
holy One who inhabiteth eternity looks upon me, searches my heart,
and reads the most secret thoughts and acts of my life.”
Brethren, will you not devote a little thought to this subject and
notice how you conduct yourselves in the house of God and what
efforts you are making by precept and example to cultivate reverence
in your children? You roll vast responsibilities upon the preacher and
hold him accountable for the souls of your children; but you do not
sense your own responsibility as parents and as instructors and, like
Abraham, command your household after you, that they may keep
the statutes of the Lord. Your sons and daughters are corrupted by
your own example and lax precepts; and, notwithstanding this lack
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of domestic training, you expect the minister to counteract your daily
work and accomplish the wonderful achievement of training their
hearts and lives to virtue and piety. After the minister has done all
he can do for the church by faithful, affectionate admonition, patient
discipline, and fervent prayer to reclaim and save the soul, yet is not
successful, the fathers and mothers often blame him because their
children are not converted, when it may be because of their own
neglect. The burden rests with the parents; and will they take up the
work that God has entrusted to them, and with fidelity perform it?
Will they move onward and upward, working in a humble, patient,
persevering way to reach the exalted standard themselves and to bring
their children up with them? No wonder our churches are feeble and
do not have that deep, earnest piety in their borders that they should
have. Our present habits and customs, which dishonor God and bring
the sacred and heavenly down to the level of the common, are against
us. We have a sacred, testing, sanctifying truth; and if our habits and
practices are not in accordance with the truth, we are sinners against
great light, and are proportionately guilty. It will be far more tolerable
for the heathen in the day of God’s retributive justice than for us.
A much greater work might be done than we are now doing in
reflecting the light of truth. God expects us to bear much fruit. He
expects greater zeal and faithfulness, more affectionate and earnest
efforts, by the individual members of the church for their neighbors
and for those who are out of Christ. Parents must begin their work on
a high plane of action. All who name the name of Christ must put on
the whole armor and entreat, warn, and seek to win souls from sin.