ti. E d g a r H o o v e r
H orne Now we touch a vital part of our personal lives — our conversation. Thou “ shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risesi up.” What ever most occupies our hearts, will be the most frequent topic of conversation. It is impossible to keep silent on that which we really love. The child will speak of his toys; the farmer will speak of his crops; the miser will speak of his gold. The child of God is to speak of his Father’s Words. God gives this photograph of the ideal man. Whether the man is seated indoors or is at work; whether he is having his meals or is resting after a day’s work; the Scripture colors his conversation. When he is walking along the road, the Word of God has its place. When he is alone in the dark hours of the night talking with God, His Word is prominent in his words. We cannot divorce what we think from what we do. What is in the heart will be seen in what we do as well as in what we say. So doctrine is to lead to action. “And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand.” The Jew used to wear a little box on his wrist which contained short passages of Scripture. We do not do it that way, but we make sure that all our actions are reproductions of what God has said in His Word. Our mind and outlook are to be colored in the same way. “And they shall be as frontlets” — fillets or bonds — “ between thine eyes.” The mind resides behind and between the eyes. The Word of God is to be always in our minds; God has designed it for that purpose. “ For the word of God . . . is a discemer of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). The Scriptures “ are to mould all our thinking and shape all our convictions; we are to think as God thinks, and what God thinks” (D. M. Panton). Only when the Word of God is constantly before us can we do it. Jehovah then touches thè central fact: the house. “ And thou shall write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.” The Jew obeyed this command by fastening little cylinders filled with Scriptures at his gates and doors. He kissed these cylinders as he entered the house. Finally, we notice that these things we have been considering are not optional but obligatory — “ these words which I command thee.” It is a command from the high est authority and fraught with the most important issues. Once we have God’s command, nothing must stand in the way of complete obedience. Difficulties there may be; but there are to be no excuses. All we need is to be certain what it is that God requires. An officer in India directed to storm a hill-top was told by a subordinate that it was impossible. He answered: “ Impossible, Sir? Why I have the order in my pocket!” God instructs that we may do. The Book is our creed: its obedience is our rule: its approval is our ambition. It is our resolve, by the grace of God, live by it and, if need be, to die by it. God has given us a blue print for a happy home. May we build our homes entirely by it.
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T t l& a t
a t y a a d 'rfya'/ne ?
H a n s Christian Andersen, creator of warm and ten der tales for children, knew the human heart as it is given few to know it. Perhaps his own chaotic child hood following the death of his father helped develop his understanding of the sensitive child’s mind. It may, in part, have been responsible for the opinion attributed to him that “ Eighty percent of our criminals come from unsympathefic homes ” I am presuming that the author of “The Little Match Girl” and of “The Ugly Duckling” spoke on the basis of observation rather than on that of statistical data. Even today, I know of no statistical study on which one could base such a statement, but on the basis of observation of seeing the case histories of scores of today’s criminal offenders — I can only believe the gentle author’s esti mate was a low one. I know that the vast majority of criminal acts have their roots in “ unsympathetic” homes. Here, of course, I am using the word as an umbrella to cover the whole area of inadequacy •—•the indifferent, the immoral, the amoral, and the broken home. And it is as a result of observation as a law enforcement officer that I have come to have a deep and abiding appreciation for those fathers and mothers who strive valiantly to create a I am sure that everyone who has had the priceless experience of being reared in such a home has his own personalized image of it. For him, the past conjures up beloved memories. The mirror of his mind reflects simple things — perhaps a fireplace, the odor of cinnamon rolls and fresh-baked bread, tall shelves with books. And the strand of each loved memory of childhood traced back further still, becomes indissolubly entwined with the memory of the man and woman who made that house a home. The longer I live the more certain I become that material things — the architecture and the furnishings — mean little in the creation of a true home. The essen tial items are intangible — love, sympathy, understand ing, encouragement and faith. An English clergyman of another century said: “ Six things are requisite to create a ‘happy home.’ Integrity must be the architect, and tidiness the uphols terer. It must be warmed by affection, lighted up with cheerfulness; and industry must be the ventilator, re newing the atmosphere and bringing in fresh salubrity day by day; while over all, as a protecting canopy and glory, nothing will suffice except the blessing of God.” I believe that a good home, as a place for living, should be adequate in size and in appearance. But these are externals and a truly good home can exist in the absence of these desirable items. The good home does not have its source in material things. Its roots are to be found in fixed principle and in morality, both of which stem solely from the spiritual. The good home is a place of learning in which example is the teacher and the values taught are sound. The good home is a a place of discipline leavened with affection. It is a place of good faith and understanding. It is a place in which the priceless attributes of living are taken for granted because they are freely given. good home for their children. And what is a “good” home?
JUNE, 1959
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