Chapter 107—A Christian Household
Like the patriarchs of old, those who profess to love God should
erect an altar to the Lord wherever they pitch their tent. If ever there
was a time when every house should be a house of prayer, it is now.
Fathers and mothers should often lift up their hearts to God in humble
supplication for themselves and their children. Let the father, as priest
of the household, lay upon the altar of God the morning and evening
sacrifice, while the wife and children unite in prayer and praise. In
such a household, Jesus will love to tarry.
From every Christian home a holy light should shine forth. Love
should be revealed in action. It should flow out in all home intercourse,
showing itself in thoughtful kindness, in gentle, unselfish courtesy.
There are homes where this principle is carried out,—homes where
God is worshiped, and truest love reigns. From these homes, morning
and evening prayer ascends to God as sweet incense, and His mercies
and blessings descend upon the suppliants like the morning dew.
A well-ordered Christian household is a powerful argument in
favor of the reality of the Christian religion,—an argument that the
infidel cannot gainsay. All can see that there is an influence at work in
the family that affects the children, and that the God of Abraham is
with them.—
Patriarchs and Prophets, 144
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