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Counsels for the Church
If the will of God is fulfilled, the husband and wife will respect
each other and cultivate love and confidence. Anything that would
mar the peace and unity of the family should be firmly repressed, and
kindness and love should be cherished. He who manifests the spirit of
tenderness, forbearance, and love will find that the same spirit will be
reflected upon him. Where the Spirit of God reigns, there will be no
talk of unsuitability in the marriage relation. If Christ indeed is formed
within, the hope of glory, there will be union and love in the home.
Christ abiding in the heart of the wife will be at agreement with Christ
abiding in the heart of the husband. They will be striving together for
the mansions Christ has gone to prepare for those who love Him.
Those who regard the marriage relation as one of God’s sacred
ordinances, guarded by His holy precept, will be controlled by the
dictates of reason.
In the married life men and women sometimes act like undisci-
plined, perverse children. The husband wants his way, and the wife
wants her way, and neither is willing to yield. Such a condition of
things can bring only the greatest unhappiness. Both husband and
wife should be willing to yield his or her way or opinion. There is
no possibility of happiness while they both persists in doing as they
please
Without mutual forbearance and love no earthly power can hold
you and your husband in the bonds of Christian unity. Your compan-
ionship in the marriage relation should be close and tender, holy and
elevated, breathing a spiritual power into your lives, that you may be
everything to each other that God’s word requires. When you reach
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the condition that the Lord desires you to reach, you will find heaven
below and God in your life.
Remember, my dear brother and sister, that God is love and that
by His grace you can succeed in making each other happy, as in your
marriage pledge you promised to do
By the grace of Christ you can gain the victory over self and
selfishness. As you live His life, showing self-sacrifice at every step,
constantly revealing a stronger sympathy for those in need of help, you
will gain victory after victory. Day by day you will learn better how to
179
The Adventist Home, 118-121
180
The Adventist Home, 112