By J.H. Garrison
CHRISTIANITY cannot go very far until Christ finds his place in the home. In his boyhood and young manhood he honored his own humble home at Nazareth by being subject to his parents. He gave the most impressive sanction to marriage, which is the foundation of the home. The home is the center of our earthly affections, and the seed bed of every virtue, as it is of every vice. It is the foundation whence flow the waters, sweet or bitter, which determine the character of men and the course of civilization. In this holy place, where life has its beginnings, and where character in its plastic state is molded for good or evil, Christ should hold a central and vital place. He should be recognized as the silent listener to every conversation, the unseen Guest at every meal, and the potent Inspirer of all the household's plans and ideals. In such a home, parents will speak his name with reverence and tell of his wondrous love and power. Little children will lisp his name in their evening prayer; the morning and evening sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving will be offered in his name and rise like incense from its altar.
One often calls to mind the scene of Christ in the home of Martha and Mary and Lazarus, at Bethany, to get a realistic view of Christ's place in the home. He was ever a welcome Guest. He was the Instructor of the members of that family in the things of God. Who of us would not be glad to take Mary's place and sit at his feet and hear him talk of his Father, or Martha's place and minister to his needs? He was with them in their glad and happy hours to sanctify their joys. He was with them when the dark shadow of death fell upon that home to dispel its gloom and restore the lost brother. How that humble home on the Mount of Olives shines out through all the intervening centuries with the radiance which Christ's presence gave to it!
Christ's place in the home must not be nominal and formal, but central and controlling. He must decide every question of business, of amusement, of literature, of education, of expenditure, of visitors in the home, of discipline and training, and of its relation to other homes and to society at large. That is to say, in determining all these questions, those who are responsible for the home are bound to ask, What would be pleasing to Christ, what would be in harmony with his will, what would conduce to the development of a life like his own, and to the advancement of his kingdom in the world? There is nothing too secular on the one hand, nor too sacred on the other, to be brought to the tribunal of the Master for his decision. The location of the home in the midst of proper environment, the occupation, the kind of education to give to children to fit them for life, the kind of books and papers to be read in the home, the kind of people we invite to be associates with our children, and the kind of marriages the sons and daughters are to contract, looking to future homes--all these questions, the right determination of which is of more importance than human mind can see, should never be decided without bringing Christ into the problem and asking,, ourselves what he would have us do.
On joyous and festive occasions, such as birthday anniversaries, or the joyful festivals of the year, Christ should be among the invited guests that his presence may sanctify all the joy and gladness of the occasion. His unseen, yet recognized, presence, will exclude all that is unholy and all excesses which would injure body, mind or heart. In times of trial, or of darkness, when some great sorrow shadows the home, we shall be sure to crave the presence of the divine Guest who brightened and blessed the home in Bethany. He can dry our tears, dispel our fears, and fill our hearts with his own peace as no other can.
Indeed, it is more blessed to have sorrow in the home, with Christ present, than to have joy there with the Master absent. Let the name of Jesus be among the first that infant lips are taught to pronounce, and songs of praise to him be among the very first they are taught to sing. So shall his image be engraved in their young hearts so deeply that no future evil influence can ever fully erase it.
We sing, "What is home without a mother?" and surely it would be lacking in one of its important elements. But what would home be without Christ at the center of it? No one has ever realized the blessedness of marriage, and the sacredness of the relation between man and wife, until Christ comes into the home, sweetens all its duties, sanctifies all its relationships, and interprets to husband and wife their mutual obligations and responsibilities; nor does the relation of parent and child ever attain its real sacredness, beauty and tenderness, except in the light of Christ's presence and teaching. There is no greater responsibility resting upon society than the protection of the home from its outward enemies, such as the saloon, the gambling house and the brothel; and the church has no more sacred task than to instil in the hearts of the people higher ideals of what the home should be; and, above all, to use its utmost influence in getting Christ enthroned in the home.
The home that has Christ enthroned therein is the greatest evangelistic agency in the world, and the mightiest factor in the building up of the kingdom of God on earth.
