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May, 1934
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
and said, ‘Now, Brother Stuart, you are in the home of a Methodist preacher; do as you think best.’ “I replied, ‘As I sit today in the family of a Methodist preacher, let us begin our service with an old-fashioned experience meeting. I want each child, in the order of your ages, to tell your experience.’ “The oldest arose and pointed his finger at the oil por trait of his father, hanging on the wall, and said in sub stance about as follows: ‘Brother Stuart, there is the pic ture of the best father God ever gave a family. Many a time he has taken me to his secret place of prayer, put his hand on my head, and prayed for his boy. And at every turn of my life, since he has left me, I have felt the pressure of his hand on my head, and have seen the tears upon his face, and have heard the prayers from his trembling lips. I have not been as good a man since his death as I ought to have been, but I stand up here today to tell you and my brothers and sisters and my dear old mother that I am going to live a better life from this hour until I die.’
Christ. Make room for Him at the dinner table, at the piano, in your conversation, at the family altar, in your recreation! /A return to Bible standards of home life in the professing Christian homes of America, together with a return to Bible preaching in our pulpits, is the crying need of the hour. Otherwise, there is no hope for our national life, whatever schemes our national leaders may be able to devise. Back to God in home and church is the remedy, the only remedy—apart from the return of our Lord Jesus Christ to take over the reins of human governmenTjj ^ ^ “A nd T hy H ouse ” 3 The real purpose of every home is to shape character for time and eternity. The home is God’s first school, where each generation should learn the fundamentals of holy living. A mother’s and a father’s first duty is to make provision that the home shall be what God intended it should be. On that basis is the promise given: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” It is sad when Christian parents are too busy to attend to the moral and spiritual instruction of their children. “We lost our first child,” said a man in the course of a con versation with a friend. The other, shocked, cried out, “I didn’t know that she was dead!” “Oh, she isn’t dead,” was the quick response, to which was added, sadly, “I was too busy.” / “What is home without a mother?” is an old question that silently gives its own answer. We might also ask: What is a mother without Christ?? What is a father with out Christ? A'few years ago, I saw a letter written by a young convict in an Eastern penitentiary, to a preacher who had spoken a kind word in his behalf. In that letter was the heart cry of a lad still in his teens. The letter was poorly written, the words incorrectly spelled. The writer told how his mother died when he was a mere child. He had not seen his father since he was ten years old. He went on to say that he thought that if he had had a home and could have gone to Sunday-school as many other boys can do, he would not have been where he was. There was a sob in that note. God give us more homes where Jesus Christ is known and loved, where the boys and girls from early years may be touched by the reality of Christ and, being drawn to Him by the consciousness of His presence, may learn to know Him as Saviour and Lord! G od in the H ome Dr. J. Wilbur Chapman, of blessed memory, gave the following picture in his powerful sermon on “An Old- Fashioned Home.” He received it from George R. Stuart, the great Southern evangelist, now also with the Lord. Dr. Stuart said: “When I was preaching in Nashville, at the conclusion of my sermon, a Methodist preacher came up and laid his hand upon my shoulder and said: ‘Brother Stuart, how your sermon today carried me back to my home! My father was a local preacher and the best man I ever saw. He is gone to heaven now. We have a large family; Mother is still at home, and I should like to see all the children together once more and have you come and dedicate our home to God, while we all rededicate ourselves to God, before precious old Mother leaves.’ ” Dr. Stuart promised to come. The day arrived; the boys, all grown men, gathered at the old home. He describes the gathering in the following way: “The old mother was indescribably happy. There was a smile lingering in the wrinkles of her dear old face. We all gathered in the large, old-fashioned family room in the old-fashioned semi circle, with the mother in her natural place in the corner. The preacher brother laid the large family Bible in my lap
“T he F ather to the C hildren S hall M ake K nown T hy T ru th ”
“Overcome with emotion, he took his Seat, and the children in order spoke along the same line. Each one re ferred to the place of secret prayer and the father’s hand upon the head. At last we came to the youngest boy, who, with his face buried in his hands, was sobbing and refused to speak. The preacher brother very pathetically said, ‘Buddy, say a word; there is no one here but the family, and it will help you.’ “He arose, holding the back of his chair, and looking up at me, said, ‘Brother Stuart, they tell me that you have come to dedicate this home to God; but my old mother here has never let it get an inch from God. They tell me that this meeting is called that my brothers and sisters may dedicate their lives to God, but they are good. I know them. I am the only black sheep in this flock. !Every step I have wandered away from God and the life of my precious father, I have felt his hand upon my head and heard his blessed words of prayer. Today I come back to God, back to my father’s life; and, so help me God, I will never wander away again.’ “There followed a burst of sobbing and shouting.” From such homes, made fragrant by the love and har mony which are born of the Holy Spirit of God, issue the blessed influences which are the true strength of a nation. No battleships, war planes, and other implements of de fense and destruction can protect our country from the most dangerous foes within--the disintegrating forces in our society. [A home life which is within the circle of the will of God, founded on real faith in the Word of God and the blessed Christ it reveals, and welded together in Chris tian love and spiritual prayer, is the supreme need of our nation—a need that Christian parents dare not overlook!) ' ” *5 /*<»/
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