Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1877-09-28
Christ in the Family.

We need him, first in the sacred trust, com
mitted to MS, of one another's happiness. II
| ii impossible TO overestmate the proportion Of
our happiness derived from dome site relations,
as compared to that which comes from all
| other earthly sources united. or the degree TO
which causes of domestic dsquiet can neu-
tralze prosperity, honor, and every external
object of desire In our out-of-door life many
of MS are able to case ourselves in an armor of
determined purpose, resolute endeavor, and
strenuous industry, which is proof against
petty annoyances But Mt home this armor
is thrown aside the whole nervous tissue of
the soul, the minute network of sentiment
and feeling is laid bare every shrinking fibre
of sensibilty is exposed without protection,
and the slightest puncture may produce un-
told agony Or, to vary the figure, these
complex, many -stringed Tyres of mind and
soul. sense and feeling. may out-of-doors, be
set ajar, and their discord shall be lost in the
wind, or merged in the multitudinous noises
of the busy world but within close walls ev-
cry discordnnt note falls with painful stroke
on the ear, and its harsh echo vibrates for
hours, and gathers strength from reverbera-
ton.
To preserve the home harmony, we need
more than the general goodness, the cardinal
virtues, enforced by the natural conscience
and by public opinion. We need that Christ
tune each throbbing string of each living Tyre
The evangelic virtues are precisely those
which alone can make happy family. There
must be- not pride, but that modest and lowly
self-estimate which shall concede his due and
more to each member of the circle not self
assertion and obstinate adherence to ones
own preference in things Indifferent, but Il
mutual yielding, I'm honor prefeIl'ing one
another; not the captous spirit, on the watch
for causes of ofense, but the heart slow of
suspicion and incapable of imagining slight or
wrong where none is intended not quick re-
sentiment but forbearance and long-suffering,
in the consciousness that in the alterations
of temper and feeling to which we all are liza
BILE, each may claim tomorrow the kind con-
struction that is demanded of him to-dny not
the rough. curt answer the abrupt uttemnce.
the ungentle mien, but the meekness and
courtesy, not to be simulated, which are the
spontaneous, everyday garb of truly Christ
like soul not the selfish Incidence good-na-
tured though it be, which quietly lets itself be
ministered to, and takes as rightfully its own
the sunny-side, the place of privilege, the
Benjanins portion. but the spirit of willing
and cheerful service, which claims its unstint-
ed share in the division of every common
burden, and which never forgets that the
Lord of men and of angels came to minister,
not to be ministered unto, and pronounced
him the greatest who makes himself the least
and the servant of all.
We all know that these are the elements of
domestic peace and happiness We who trust
that we have learned enough of Christ to be
saved from gross sins and great transgres-
sions, have, most of u.s. been oftener called to
penitence and self-humiliation for ofenses
under these heads than for all things else
Now l know not how we are to overcome
these infirmities of temper, these easily -beset-
ting sins, except as We emulate the beloved
family of Bethany-hke Martha, serve Christ
in the routine of domestic care and duty like
Mary, have our chosen place at his feet, and
under the word-fall of his lips; like Lazarus,
have him at our side when we sit at table
We need to contemplate his meek and gentle
spirit, his kind and courteous mein his self
sacrifice. his constant thought and care for
those around him, his genial sympathy alike
with joy and with grief, till our souls receive
the image We behold and the loving Christ
be fully formed within us. Thus, and thus
only, can the earthly family grow into the si-
Multitude of the heavenly, and the union here
be prophetic of that which shall make us one
in the Fathers house on high.-Rer. Dr. A.
r. PtdJOdy.