Nowhere is Christianity more beautiful and blessed than in the home. It changes the home of wickedness, strife, and contention into a peaceful and delightful Eden. The home of the poor, it converts into a palace: it drives away discontentment, uneasiness, fear, and darkness, and scatters contentment, peace, assurance, and sunlight into every heart and home it is permitted to enter. Recently, we saw some People witnessing in a public meeting and speaking in their testimonies of the blessedness of salvation. They said, “It is a heaven to go to Heaven in”; but in their homes, we found them irritable, impatient, and contentious, which is very unlike Heaven. But, thank God, Christianity brings a heaven to the home, as well as in the public life. Christianity is Christ in the heart, and where Christ is, there is heaven; consequently, a Christian has a heaven within him, and he has this heaven at home as well as abroad. Praise God!
Husband’s Duty to the Wife…
The Bible tells man what should be his behavior toward his wife, and a Christian is to live and do just what the Bible says, without modifications. To have a Christian experience is to live a Christian life.
The husband is to regard the wife as the weaker vessel, and thus give her honor, support, and protection. “Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honor unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered” (1 Peter 3:7).
The husband must look upon his wife with respect and, because of her feminine sensitiveness, have an especial care for her in spiritual things, and be her support in temporal things. Women have trials peculiar to their own sex, and a husband can scarce be called a husband, much less a Christian, that neglects to console and comfort them and throw as much joy and sunlight into their lives as possible. When Hannah wept because she had no son, her husband sought to comfort her with these words: “Why weepest thou? And why eatest thou not? And why is thy heart grieved? Am not I better to thee then ten sons? (1 Samuel 1:8). May God help husbands to so dwell with their wives that when the wife is in discouragement and sorrow, they can cheer them by recounting their love, devotion, and goodness to them--- Why is your heart grieved? Am I not good and kind to thee?
Husbands must love their wives as themselves. “So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church” (Ephesians 5:28, 29). The care Jesus exercises in nourshing and cherishing the church is illustrative of the care the husband should manifest in nourishing and cherishing his wife. “Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them” (Colossians 3:19). All hasty, sharp, cross, unkind, cutting, bitter words are forever put away by the Christian spirit; and if we have not ceased from them, God has better things for us.
Wife’s Duty to the Husband...
Nowhere is wickedness more greatly revealed than in a wicked woman, and nowhere is Christianity more beautifully exemplified than in a pure, chaste woman. “A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband” (Proverbs 12:4). Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies. The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life” (Proverbs 31:10-12). These words are beautiful and should encourage a wife to a life of faithfulness and devotion---that she may be a crown to her husband and be valued far above rubies. The wife that will honor and reverence her husband and seek to please him will find a joy in her own heart. “Her children arise up, and call here blessed; her husband also and he praiseth her” (Proverbs 31:28).
Wives should love their husbands (Titus2:4), and should reverence them: “Let the wife see that she reverence her husband” (Ephesians 5:33). Reverence: A feeling or attitude of deep respect, love and awe. Such should be the attitude of the wife toward her husband.
“Wives, submit yourselves unto you own husbands, as unto the Lord” (verse 22). The Christian consecrates, resigns, and submits himself to the care of God. The Christian leans in loving confidence upon God. We learn that God has provided for and gifted the Christian husband with strength---making it desirable and natural for his wife to lean in loving confidence upon her husband; and the husband’s conduct toward the wife should be such as would encourage her to trust and confide in him, as God’s conduct toward us encourages us to trust and lean upon Him. When the husband and wife are kind, loving, and gentle toward each other, when she in her weakness feels her dependence upon him, and lovingly, trustingly looks unto him as her defense, and he in his strength and delight folds her in his strong arms of protection with a feeling of responsibility to nourish and cherish her---then they can testify that they have a heaven in their home. Unless they have attained unto such a life, they have not attained to perfect, Bible Christianity, neither to perfect joy and happiness.
Parents’ Duty to Their Children...
Most parents believe they love their children, but true Christian love of parents toward children comprises more than many have understood. They may love them in a sense, but the parent that feels provoked toward the little one and threatens to slap it, calling it some ugly names is not loving the child with Christian love. How many fathers and mothers under provocations are making severe threats to punish their children, at the same time calling them “ugly brats,” “mean kids,” “little imps,” etc. Such parents do not comprehend the true nature of Christianity, if they believe themselves to be Christians, while having such feelings and using such terms toward their children. Christianity is far more beautiful than this.
Parents are commanded to train their children up for God and Heaven: “And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4). They must teach them God’s Word: “Only take heed to thy self, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and they sons’ sons (Deuteronomy 4:9). “And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up” (Deuteronomy 1:19).
They must tell them of the judgments of God, as given in His Word: “Tell your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation” (Joel 1:3). Patents are to provide for their children: “But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse then an infidel” (1 Timothy 5:8). Parents who through indolence fail to comfortable clothe and sufficiently feed and give them educational and religious advantages according to the Bible rule, are failing in the Christian way. Parents are failing in the Christian way when they use their money extravagantly, and then fail to comfortably clothe and give their children a sufficient of wholesome food, or fail to give them proper educational and religious advantages.
Now, elders and deacons are commanded to rule their children well and have them in subjection with all gravity. Elders are an example to the flock; consequently, it follows that all Christians must rule their children well and have them in subjection. Parents cannot have the approval of God on them, no matter how much they may pray and how active they may be in the religious life, if they allow their children to disobey them and go in the ways of sin. We have known many parents to pray for the salvation of their children, and all the while were allowing them to participate in all kinds of harmful worldy activities. Such prayers go unanswered, and such conduct brings the wrath of God upon the parents. For the sake of our spiritual welfare, and the spiritual welfare of our children, let's restrain them from evil ways; let's not fail in taking them with us to the house of God.
Great responsibility is laid upon parents. They have a child whose eternal destiny depends largely upon the training it receives in youthful days. As we value our own and our children’s eternal happiness in the glory of God’s presence, let's get our soul filled with love and the Holy Spirit so that we can set a godly example before our children, and seek help from God to train them up in the ways of righteousness.
Children’s Duty to Their Parents...
While it is the duty of the parents to teach their child, God makes it the duty of the child to heed to the parent’s teaching. “A wise son heareth his father’s instruction” (Proverbs 13:1). "Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise” (Ephesians 6:1, 2). Obedience to parents is well pleasing to God. “Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord” (Colossians 3:20).
Many boys and girls at the present day are found to utterly disregard their parent’s commands and wishes. Such children have not yet experienced the power of regeneration. As Children, God holds them to love, honor, and obey their parents--- the rewards are present and eternal!
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