Arkansas State press., 1945-10-19

praying and planning and real ef-
fort to accomplish a worthwhile
purpose We are thinking these
weeks Of the home as Christian
center Of influence. We trust that
many are asking in their hearts,
What can ! do to make my home
really Christian"
The answer Is clear A home will
be Christian when those In 1t are
Christian and put their Christianity
into daily practice. First, you must
be sure Of your own salvation and
that OF the members of~your house.
hold. Then you can proceed to put
the principles Of goodness to work.
Our lesson presents the believing
home as one that is well-balanced.
There Is both:
I. Work and Worship Luke 10:
38-42).
No home can be place Of COM
fort and pleasant fellowship without
much work A disorderly. dirty or
rundown house is disgrace and
disbursement to all that Is finest
In the relations Of those who live in
II.
Home need not be mansion. It
does not have to be richly furnished,
but 1t does need to be clean and
orderly Meals must be made.
Cleaning must be done. So far
Martha was right. but she went too
far. She let the labor of the house.
hold hinder her from what she SO
deeply needed -- fellowship, not only
with her family but with the Lord.
Now, notice that Mary had not
shirked her duty to share the work
Observe the word "also" In verse
49, She had worked. but she also sat
at Jesus feet She knew when 1t
was time to call halt to labor and
make the most of good comradeship.
Blessed wisdom! Would that many
burdened housewives would learn Of
Mary
Jesus made il clear that life in
the home is to strike proper bal
ance between work and worship. II
you do not know where to make the
division in your home. err on the
side Of worship. Give that more
| time than 1t should have rather
I than less
Alas, is it not true that in most
homes. even in Christian homes.
worship is almost, il not entirely
forgotten! Something should be done
about that. Will you do 1t in your
home7
II. Love ana Lenssuffering Il Cor
bad.
We are apt to think Of love az the
warm feeling Of interest and emo.
ton which suffuses ones nature IN
moments of special pleasantness or
of intimate fellowship, But life is
not made up OF a succession Of
pleasant incidents Of sunny after
moons and moonlt evenings.
Life Is real; it is earnest, and
often it is drab and irritating. What
about such times? Can love meet
them? Yes, for love knows how TO
be longsuffering.
But someone may ask, Does love
really work, or Is this just fine
sounding but obsolete theory? 1t
works.
Think of the things in life which
irri,ate and depress us. Then put
opposite them the qualities OF Chris
tan love as given in verses 4 to 7,
and you will agree that what this
World needs most Of all is love.
Remember that talking about love,
or reading about it. or studying 1t In
the Sunday school will not make
it effective. We must put It into prac-
tice Why not start now You will
be surprised at the results.
III. Promise and Perfection wv.
8-l3>.
Christianity has hope, and that
Is not Just a vague wishing that
something might come to pass; 1t Is
a sure hope. In Christ all the rich
promise of prophecy, Of faith, OF
hope will come to pass.
The Christian home Is the place to
teach boys and girls to believe with
assurance that He who has begun
good work in us will perform 1t
until the day of Jesus Christ" (Phil.
1:6).
We who see only dimly shall one
day see our Lord face to face, and
love shall abide through all eternity.
Many gifts are only temporary in
their usefulness; In fact, almost ev-
erything that man makes or does
tapart from his service for Cod Is
transient.
Even as vital matter as
prophecy shall one day find its end
in fulHllment. Hope shall eventually
find Its longing expectation salts
fed. Faith will be justified In seeing
what II has believed. Childish things
will be put away by the fill-
grown man; knowledge will increase
and darkness disappear
But love love is eternal II
never fails. and will never fail. God
Is love. and God Is eternal. From
all eternity and unto all eternity
love continues. Therefore. we agree
with Paul who. In the verse preced-
Ing this chapter Il Cor. l2:3l) says