The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1921-05-20
International
SundaySchoolLesson
BIZ WHLIAM b. ELLIs.

The Christian View of the Fam
lily; or What a Christian Home
Should Be-" Luke 10:3S-42; 2:51,
So; Tim. s:1a. 15.
Building q Home on a Book.
Several definite problems, always
present with the human race, have
been by the war suddenly rendered
acute in Europe and America. One
of the gravest of these is housing.
There is literally a shortage of mil
ions of residences in the United States
And Canada, especially in the great
cities So this condition is a timely
background for the study of the pres
ent pertinent Sunday school lesson up
on what constitutes a Christian home
A democracy cannot succeed with
out homes of happiness and enlight-
eminent. One may even go further,
and say that a real democracy is i'm
possible without Christian homes.
Neither tyranny or anarchy can thrive
in a land where the great bulk of this
people own their own home, and
where domestic happiness is the goal
OF young men and young women. Who
ever erects a Christian home builds
the surest bulwark against the storms
OF radicalism and unrest.
1t is a sorry day for any nation or
community when the people begin to
conceive of their highest happiness
outside of the family circle Such
cynical sayings as Home is the place
we have to stay when there is no
where else to go" SAVIOR of the de-
generate cynicism of Greenwich Viii
lage.
: Let US consider this topic under the
figure OF the building OF house: for
good house and its creation is par
able of a, Christian home.
The Home-Builder's Plan.
there must be good plan. some
houses are built by amateurs, without
any design or blueprint: and they
show it. Oliver Wendell Holmes
likens many a "seif-made man to
this type OF architecture. And often
haphazard and without attempt to
follow the Bible plan for a family life.
So important an enterprise as the
making of a home[important to the
community as to the nation, as well
as to the persons concerned-calls for
careful foresight and for an UNDER
standing of the Divine design for the
family. A study of the Scriptural
specifications, and building after the
pattern there laid down, is the first
| step in good home making.
| Having planned the house, the next
\ step is to determine its location and
exposure. Which way does it face
Is it open to the sun and to the winds :?
Has it good elevation? Which means,
translated into terms of home-making,
has it a Godward outlook? Do its
windows of prayer, like Daniels, face
toward the east? Some Christian
young people open their first home
with little ceremony of Christian
dedication: they deliberately build
looking toward the heavenlies.
"JeTry-built" is a phrase of con-
domination used to describe flimsy
contract houses, which lack strength
of foundation and essential timbers.
The foundation and beams of a house
are more important than its appear
ance. The family spirit of Christian
faith and love and patience and cheer
fulness, in which a home is built, is
simply, Indispensable to good home
making. Unless built upon the Rock
no home can Withstand the inevitable
fstorms.
And a family altar means an altered
family.
"Rooftree" is a familiar synonym
| for a home. Basic to the thought OF
family dwelling is the idea of shelter
and protection. The wise builder
Hooks well to the roof, that it may
last and neither leak nor catch fire
God himself is the covering of the
family of His children. The British
weekly prints a beautiful poem, OF
unknown authorship, under One
Roof"
"once, in the days Of long ago.,
Days of my whole life the best,
4 When the time for sleep had come,
| And the house was hushed to rest,
1t was such happy thought,
Used to make my heart so light,
We were all beneath one roof
When l barred the doors at night
Let the wind moan as 1t would,
Let the rain-drops patter fast,
They were near me, nestled warm,
From the midnight and the blast;
Not one lingering out OF reach,
It's a woman's Heaven to have
All she loves beneath one roof
Nov tonight the autumn wind
Thru the keyhole whistles shTill;
1t must roar amongst the frs
Dying leaves are whirled aloft.
Swaying branches knock the pane,
In the pauses of the wind
Listen! Oh, the rain, the rain!
Now, when bedtime comes at length
To me, sitting here alone,
Tells how still the house has grown.
| oh, how heavy is the heart
That was once so light Of you're;
Now--I seem TO bar them out
When at night bar the door.
But our Father surely needs
All His dear ones near Him still;
| Are we not at home with Him
IN the house or On the hill!
So 1 fill my empty heart
With the thought that far above
| Over them as over me.
Spreads one roof of Heavenly Love.
; $50 1 can go up to bed,
Pass the door where once 1 heard
| Gentle breathing, as / erept
Softly by, without word;
Tho the house is silent now,
Tho they wish me no good night
We are still beneath one, roof
When 1 bar the doors at night"
: The Many Rooms.
In the simple life of the Orient
most of the population dwells il
houses or tents of one room w
| have got beyond that: too far beyon,
it, perhaps, for the living room,
where all the family daily gather, i
, not a factor in all modern houses
without enc room of common reser
: and assembly. be it kitchen, dinint
room or parlor the best family lif