of every human heart is love. If the child is loved and accepted, not re jected, regardless of whatever fail ures may come, he will generally be well adjusted. If the child is not ac cepted into the household, if it doesn’t have sense of belonging, he will be warped as long as he lives. In the counselling ministry, we find that many of the lonely hearts coming to us are a result of a lack of early love. A woman in her thir ties came to me and out of the hunger of her soul, she said, “You know, it’s very difficult to believe that God loves me. My father and mother never did.” How can we show our children the love of God if we don’t reveal a true love for them individ ually? That is why love and disci pline go together. Your child needs a sense of belonging, a sense of real love, a sense of being accepted for its own sake. At the same time, because it is a little child, born into the world with a self-centered will, it needs disci pline and correction. This is how a child begins to grow and develop when the two are in proper perspec tive. Tell your child you love him. We should be interested in what the child is interested in. We ought to provide an atmosphere of love in which the child can live. Our discipline must be consistent. The child should be taught that whining gets it noth ing. He will need to learn that all authority comes from the Lord. Dis cipline needs to come within the quiet pattern of that which is mature, not from a fussing nature. Let us thank the Lord for the guid ance His Holy Spirit gives in this area of life. May we willingly ac cept the discipline of our own lives so that we may be better examples for our youth.
day ? There was a study made in one of our children’s homes in an eastern city of the effect ocean pictures had on the sleep habits of a child. They were not now concerned about the quality of the picture but about the excitement that resulted. The group which had seen these pictures dur ing the day slept much more fitfully. What one sees can easily affect his nervous life. There is even a need to provide for the esthetic development of the child. What kind of music do we have in the home? If all your youth hears is the rock ’n roll beat, he will grow up to be eccentric on that point. Do we have any of the great chorales of the church? What about some sym phonies by Beethoven, or the Bach preludes and Chopin etudes? If you want your child to appreciate the great musical heritage of our world, you must accept the responsibility and make a provision for it. The child cannot provide for itself. It does not know what a balanced diet is. I know a dear mother who hap pens to be the wife of a college staff man. Her children all had very diffi cult times. They looked weak and were troubled with various kinds of problems. We found out that this woman was giving them some form of dried meat for economy every day. This wasn’t enough. Today we have a vast choice of foods and vita mins. As a father or mother, we must fully provide for our children. The Scripture says that if we do not, we have actually denied the faith and are worse than an unbeliever. The Lord gave your child to you that you might provide for it all that is necessary for maturity. If that young man or young woman is to live for Jesus Christ and take his or her place in society you must make ample provision for them. One of our prime responsibilities is to render loving discipline (notice what kind!). The one great desire
If you make Sunday your strong day, the rest of your days will not be weak days. 7
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