Living In The Light

January 19, Love In The Home

No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another,
God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.
—1 John 4:12 LL 25.1

That cannot be a happy home where love is not cultivated between husband and wife, between parents and children. If parents have been self-centered, and have trained their children in an atmosphere where love was not manifested in affectionate words and actions, then change the atmosphere of your home as quickly as possible. Let husbands love their wives, and let the wives see that they reverence their husbands. The plan of salvation was devised in order to transform the natural character, and fashion it after the divine image. When the grace of Christ is received in the heart, it will soften whatever is harsh, and subdue that which is coarse and unkind. Courtesy will be expressed in the affairs of home life. Let father and mother remember that they themselves are but grown-up children. Though great light has shone upon their pathway, and they have had long experience, yet how easily are they stirred to envy, jealousy, and evil surmisings! Because of their own mistakes and errors, they should learn to deal gently with their erring children. LL 25.2

Just as you conduct yourself in your home life, you are registered in the books of heaven. He who would become a saint in heaven, must first become a saint in his own family. If fathers and mothers are true Christians in the family, they will be useful members of the church, and will be able to conduct affairs in the church and in society after the same manner in which they conduct their family concerns. Parents, let not your religion be simply a profession, but let it become a reality. When truth is brought into the inner sanctuary of the soul, it has a wonderful and powerful effect upon the life. It will expel the love of self, indulgence of self, hastiness and petulance of temper, sensitiveness, and pride. These are the things that drive Christ from the heart, and when they are manifested in the life, the professors of religion cannot experience that noble joy that makes the servant of Christ free. He who professes to love the truth, and yet does not bring it into practical life, is bearing a heavy yoke. . . . He is subject to various caprices of his own natural character, and robs God of the service for which he was purchased by the precious blood of Christ. — Signs of the Times , May 7, 1894. LL 25.3

Further Reflection: What are the societal consequences of homes devoid of love? LL 25.4