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Chapter 29—Builders of the Home
At a marriage festival where friends and relatives rejoiced to-
gether, Christ began His public ministry by performing His first
miracle. Thus He sanctioned marriage, recognizing it as an insti-
tution 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 also making it 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, “‘You are all fair, my love, and there is no spot in
you.’”
Song of Solmon 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 husbands ought to love their own 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. And it is a blessing
wherever the marriage covenant is entered into intelligently, 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 moral stamp that their
little ones receive. And upon the character of the home depends the
condition of society. Each family’s influence helps either to elevate
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it or degrade it.
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
other people and honor their Creator.
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