CHAPTER II.

THE MISSION OF THE CHRISTIAN HOME.

"If in the family thou art the best,
Pray oft, and be mouth unto the rest;
Whom God hath made the heads of families,
He hath made priests to offer sacrifice."


The home is a divine institution, and includes the religious element,
moving in the sphere of nature and of the church, then its calling must be
of God; its mission is divine; it is designed to subserve a spiritual
purpose; it has a soul-mission. This was the view of David when he
"returned to _bless_ his household." To him his family was a church in
miniature, and he its priest. Thus too Joshua felt that his service of God
must include family worship.

What then is the mission, of the Christian home? It is two-fold,--the
temporal and eternal well-being of its members. It is the mission of home
to provide for the temporal well-being of its members. They are parts of
one great whole. Each must seek the welfare of all the rest. This involves
obedience to the law of co-operation; and has special reference to that
provision which the heads of families should make for the wants of those
who are placed under their protection. As the parent sustains a physical,
intellectual and moral relation to the child, it is his mission to provide
for its physical, mental and moral wants. "He that provideth not for his
own house hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel." Natural
affection will prompt to this. Children are in a state of utter