Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1905-12-22

AatosI Auu notnef CONTINUALLY berore
bio durine the years % his chiidheod.
- II not ufso vftsiiy fmportant FOR your
children TO have the eHa nnp,e or a Tow
Ing father and mother before them?
The divine love Is trst revealed 10 a
child through the Bible: oh, no.
Through what the minister breaches
In the pulpit or the Sunday school
teacher tells him In the sunday school?
Oh. no. IL is first revealed by the gen
tleness and kindness with which the
father OF that child deals with the
mother and the mother with the IA
Their. Beware. o parents, how you
lose your tempers before your children.
Beware how you let selfishness creep
into your hearts. Beware how you be-
come jealous or fault finding. Before
you lower the standard OF love which
father and mother Should bear to zach
other before the children go with me
for n little while back to the carpenter
shop and see Joseph protecting his
wife from the sneers or the world and
shielding ,her honor with his name.
which he was ready 70 give her when
before The priest he looked into her
eyes aud said, Mary, thou art my be.
loved wife until death doth Us part"
:, The strsssse For Bread.
The 3aviour's struggle for daily
bread when he became a young man
was also the result OF Joseph's Journey
to the rnanger OF Bethlehem of Judaea,
When Joseph went to bethlehem with
Mary he seemed to say, 81 will look
after thee and the young child" But
there came time when Joseph could
no longer look after Mary and Jesus.
Death came in and took Joseph away.
Then Jesus had TO step into Joseph's
place ana become the support or the
rest OF the family ,1rc.r fr.uirLT
Now. OF what did this family consist ?
Every Bible commentator who ever
penned description OF Joseph makes
him out 70 be Il middle ageI or an
elderly man at the TIME OF his marriage
to Mary. Some assert that not only
was Joseph a middle aged man when
he married Mary. but that he had other
children. Personally I do not believe
there Is any objection 10 these two as
sertiops. Scripture itself seems to har-
monte with these two suggestions. In
the first place, We find that the Bible
never speaks about Joseph after the
scene In the temple. when Christ as a
boy IL talking with the doctors. Jo-
seph was not with Mary ut the wedding
OF Cana OF Galilee. He was not with
Jesus during any OF his tours. He was
not With ChristCst the time OF the
crucihxion. Therefore the Bible reader
has right to suppose that n short time
after Jesus came TO young manhood Jo-
seph the carpenter died. Then Christ
has to go to work and take his foster
fathers place In the workshop. He
had to do as your elder brother did on
the farm when your father died. When
Christ was little more than n boy he
had TO do mans work-aye. and more
than mans work, Jesus had to sup
port his mothers family.
Chfkt by the forced toll and sfrug-
gle must hsye been ntted, for sympathy
VIII the strngsies Of young men and
young women. There must have been
many hfwearyr hour ia that Carpenter
shop when Jesus. with aching back.
struggled on to night the woif OF cold
and Of hunger from tina, door.i There
must have been many a blister upon
the hand from the almost ceaseless
gripping OF saw and plane and chisei.
There must have been many a bieedinS.
finger and blackened thumb when the
tired arm was no longer able to direct
the hammer Alright and instead of strik-
ing the iron nail 1t crashed into the
bruised flesh. Christ as the man SYM
pathizes with the hungry. because
Christ as the boy perhaps often went
faint 10 bed that his brothers and sis
tiers might have enough TO eat. The
ties which bound Mary the mother to
her eldest son were very sacred. Side
by side they must have struggled TO
rear those children. Side by side they
must have stood by-the husbands
grave. Side BY side they must have
drunk deep ont Of the chaiiee allied
with their bitter tears Christ was
nurtured and cared for during his years
OF infancy because Joseph the car.
penter stood by his mangerg Christ
was better, fitted for his life work or
sympathy because the children OF that
same Joseph We're thrown upon Jesus'
young shoulders TO support.
sIs The Innrenee ef . Coed Man. )
Thus the influence OF a good man
lives on after he has passed away. Tie
noble life Of some dear Que may have
you to deeds OF nobleness
while he WAS yet with you. Let its
power abide with you now that he Is
Sone. Imaking3 you useful ton those
around yeti1 aud 20 the lMaster also, s
MS truth must have been . dificult
one fer Mary to, learn. 1t Is. In all
propaDllity. difficuit one for you to