By J.R. Miller
There is a little book entitled "How Christ Came to Church". A minister dreamed that a stranger one day came to the service, and that, upon asking who it was, he was told that it was Jesus of Nazareth. The book goes on to ask, "If Christ came to your church, and sat in one of the pews--what then?" The question leads to many earnest thoughts.
The form of this picture may be changed:
I dreamed that a stranger came to my door, and asked to be my guest. There was something winsome in his face and manner. I felt at a glance that he could be my friend in the deepest sense, and that his influence upon my life would be inspiring. Instinctively I opened to him, and said as I took him up to his room, "This is your house while you are here. You are welcome to all that we have and are."
Instantly he seemed like an old friend. He entered with zest and freedom into all our home life. There was no restraint in his manner, and his presence made no feeling of restraint in our home. At the table, at my request, he asked the blessing on our food, and then entered into the conversation in a most cheerful way. So the visit began, and so day after day it continued. Each day we saw some new beauty in our guest, as he entered more and more deeply--but never obtrusively, into our home life.
But, strange to say, we had never learned his name. Indeed, the question, "Who is our guest?" seemed never to have arisen. At length, however, as we sat one day at the table, I noticed His hands, and there were prints of nails in them. Then I knew it was Jesus who was our guest. Yet I was not disturbed or overawed by this discovery. There was in Him such sweetness, such kindness, such beauty, such dear familiarity of friendship, that even the surprise of learning who the stranger was, seemed not to amaze me. Only wondrous warmth came into my heart, and I felt that we would never lose this heavenly guest from our home. In the gladness of my feeling, as I listened to His cheerful table talk, I awoke--and my dream ended!
Suppose that Jesus Christ were a guest in your home, not for the night merely--but as an abiding guest; how would it affect your home life? What would be the influence of that loving presence on the spirit, the conduct, the speech, of the household?
How would it affect you parents in the training of your children? Jesus would not interfere with your family government. That is the way some good people do harm, when they are guests in a home. They give too much advice. They have too many criticisms to make, too many suggestions to give. Without meaning it or being aware of it, they interfere with the home life--a sacred matter in which no stranger, no closest friend should ever intermeddle. But Jesus would not do so. He would be your children's best friend. He would be interested in all their life--in their studies, their play, their books, their companionships. His holiness would not be of the kind to make them afraid of Him, or to lay the slightest restraint on their innocent pleasures. He would be ready also to talk with you about your children. But He would never meddle with your family government and discipline.
If Jesus were living with you, how would you mothers bring up your children? It is a holy moment to a true hearted woman, when her child is laid in her arms, and she looks for the first time into its face. Would you not keep most careful watch over your own life, that it may be ever beautiful and worthy? The mother's life is her child's sky, atmosphere, climate, and weather. She must make sure that it is full of wholesome influence, in which all lovely things may grow.
It is living that counts first in its influence upon a child's life, before words can make much impression. A mother's love should be stainless in its purity, rich in its spirituality, tender in its affection, and strong in its moral principle. It should never be weak in a way that would make it over-kind, over-indulgent. There is almost as much harm wrought by unwise loving in mothers--as would be by a lack of lovingness! The influence of Jesus as guest in the home, would never lead to sentimental kindness to a little child.
Then, as your child grows older, and begins to listen to your teachings, what would you do for it--if Jesus were your guest? Would you not teach it the words of Christ, tell it of His love, point out to it the way of duty, and daily commit it to His care? It would seem worth while for every mother, to try to weave holy home memories into the early years of her children's life. There is no surer way to bind them as with chains of gold, fast around the feet of God. Is there any mother so busy that she cannot find time to spend a few moments every evening in her children's room in loving talk and earnest prayer? Far down into the years will go the memories of such holy moments, proving many times a bond of safety.
The father's responsibility in the training of the children should not be overlooked. If Jesus were a guest, this sacred duty would not be neglected. No doubt, in ordinary cases, the responsibility is primarily the mother's. In the present conditions of society, the burdens which most men carry in the world's life and in providing for their families are so great, that they can give only fragments of time to the direct work of training their children. Besides, there are certain parts of the home duty, which a woman can do infinitely better that a man could do. We all know how awkward most men are with a baby, while a woman does not even need to learn how to handle it with grace and ease. No hands so well as a mother's, can write God's holiest lessons upon a child's heart.
Yet fathers have a serious responsibility. What would a true father do for his children--if Jesus were living in his family? He would, first of all, live a noble, manly life. He would maintain a spotless character. His life is one of the first two books his child reads, and he should want it to be well worth reading. He would make every effort to provide a good, beautiful, and comfortable home for his family, filling it with those things whose influence will be refining and inspiring. He would seek to give his children the best possible education. He would maintain in his home the forms, as well as the spirit, of true religion, since he is the priest of the family.
As children grow up, they also have their share in the home making. If Jesus were living with them, what kind of life would the young people give to their home? What spirit would they show towards their parents? How would brothers and sisters live together?
If Jesus were a guest, love would rule in all the home relations. Mrs. Stowe has said, "How much we might make of our family life, if every secret thought of love, blossomed into a deed! There are words and looks and little observances, thoughtfulness, watchful little attentions which speak of love, which make love manifest; and there is scarcely a family that might not be richer in heart-wealth, for more of them."
We love each other at home--of course we do. We would die for each other. But too many of us have a very inadequate way of showing our love. It were well if we learned to live for each other for the present, while there is no special reason why we should die for each other. There are homes chill and wintry, which could be warmed into love's richest glow in a little time, if all the household were to grow affectionate--letting the heart's gentle feelings have simple, natural expression.
If Jesus were our guest, there would be true religion in our home. That is not saying that our family life would be gloomy, silent, and joyless. It does not mean that all the time would be spent in praying and reading the Bible. There would be merry laughter and happy song. They misrepresent the religion of Christ--who would have us think of it as cheerless and severe. It is full of joy! It represses nothing which is beautiful and good. It forbids no pure pleasure. It casts restraint upon no right spirit. Perhaps we do things now, that we would not do if Jesus were living with us; but, if so, these are not things we should keep in our home life. No doubt His presence as a guest, would greatly add to the gladness and mirth of many a home, which now lacks these very qualities, and is too sober and serious in its life.
No one needs to be reminded that this dream of Jesus as guest--is not mere imagination. He is a guest in every Christian home! When He saved us--He came into our house to live with us. He has never gone away unless we have thrust Him out. He is living continually in each home of ours, and we should shape all our home life so that it will please Him. Jesus in a home sweetens all its life--so that blessings pour out from its doors and windows to bless the whole world.
"If anyone loves Me, he will obey My teaching. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make our home with him." John 14:23
