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The Family a Symbol, January 19
For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of
whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named.
Ephesians 3:14, 15
.
In the church, officers are appointed as co-workers with God for the edification
of the body of Christ. Mothers and fathers who are doers of the Word of God are a
part of the body of Christ. They nurture and admonish their children in accordance
with God’s Word, raising up a little army to stand under Christ’s banner. They
are God’s witnesses, showing to the world that they are under the guidance of the
Holy Spirit. Christ is their pattern and they educate their children to know God.
In the prayer Christ offered in behalf of His disciples just before His betrayal
and crucifixion, He said, “This is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only
true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent” (
John 17:3
). Should not every
family on earth be a symbol of the family in heaven? In each household should
there not be heard songs of praise and thanksgiving?
The family whose members love God and one another, who do not get pro-
voked, who are longsuffering, forbearing, kind, is a symbol of the family above.
The members realize that they are a part of the great firm of heaven. They are
taught by the laws of mutual dependence to rely upon the great Head of the church.
If one of the members of such a family suffer, all the rest suffer. The suffering
of one entails suffering on the other. This should teach the youth to take care of
their bodies, and to pray to be preserved in health, because when they suffer from
disease, the whole family partakes of their suffering.
Those men and women who have determined to serve God will seek to govern
their families so that they may correctly represent the religion of Christ. The
children will be taught to be tidy and useful, to share the burdens of the home, not
allowing the parents to bear any [burden] which they can carry. Thus the lot of
mother and father is made much easier. The whole family shares the blessing of
the helpfulness of its members.
Why do not parents come to Jesus just as they are, asking for His forgiving
grace and healing power? Why do they not plead to be endowed with capabilities
that will enable them to rule their households aright?...
God is robbed when men and women do not connect with Him in such a way
that mind, soul, and strength may be controlled by the Holy Spirit. The family
of God here below should cooperate in the most perfect harmony with God’s
appointed agencies in the work of molding the human character after the divine
similitude.—
Manuscript 1, January 19, 1899
, “Unity, Courtesy, Love.”
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