Thoughtful Moments

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 7, Issue 66, 21 April 1944, Page 2

Thoughtful Moments

OUR SUNDAY MESSAGE (Supplied by the Whakatone Ministers' Association).

of Scotland wc are told that marriage was ordained for the lifelong companionship, help and comfort which husband and wife ought to have for each other, for the. continuance of the holy ordinance of family life and for the welfare of human society. First, husband and w if e —then the home —and then society at large, and a marriage that fails to include these three aspects is not 5 really complete. Family life enlarges and enriches the relation of husband and wife to each other. It also brings new responsibilities. It brings the responsibilities of feeding and clothing and caring for the child physically and of giving him a good education, and most, important of all, of developing a character. Parents cannot hope to do this unless their own lives are consecrated arid unless they are living Christ in their daMy lives. Negative religion-—the religion that says "Thou shalt not" is meaningless and unproductive. But a positive religion —a religion that radiates the spirit of Christ, is the religion we want for our children. And the best way of helping them to it is by living it ourselves. Wide Horizons Family life tends to. become, selfish unless it stretches out and takes in others. There is' a great ministry for the happy Christian home to offer and those of us who are privileged to have homes should from time to time have lonely, sad or ailing people as guests. Their particular needs should be explained to the children and it is amazing how the smallest may be made to understand. The almost unconscious ministry of the little child in a happy home, to the sad and lonely, is one of the loveliest things in, all home life. With this background of thoughtfulness and consideration for others, the child as he grows older will develop a sense' of social service, and a desire to work for the betterment of the race; and so love that begins as a small spark between a man and a woman grows and stretches out until it embraces all mankind. This, then, is the Christian ideal of marriage—a stream of love flowing out beyond the personal, or even the family relationship, to the larger society of one's fellow men, and when such a marriage is enriched by the Spirit of Christ and consecrated by faith in God it can. indeed be described as a Sacrament of God's love in the lives of men and women.

CHRISTIAN MARRIAGE ( i < By Dr. Elizabeth C01e.., i It has been said that "Marriage ] is not the goal, but the. starting | point in a great adventure, and like j other adventures it promises experi- ] ences of infinite variety, dangers from unexjieeted quarters, periods , of doubt and uncertainty, moments ] of illuminating vision and more j than all other adventures- it holds the possibility of undreamed of hap- I piness spreading into and affecting < the whole life." But there i.s one point about marriage which makes it different from many other adventures., and that is that it is a shared adventure. Man does not ride, forth as the knights of old, alone, to face whatever comes, but by his side he has someone whom lie loves, to share the difficulties, the dangers, the doubts and the happiness. St. Augustine said: "bf God meant, woman to rule over man He Avould have taken her out of Adam's head —had he designed her to be his slave, from his feet —but God took woman out of j man's side, for He made her to be a helpmate and equal to him." Leslie Weatlierhead, in his book "The Mastery of Sex," says: "I think the magic word which makes marriage happy is together," and these two words helpmate and together hold the secret of happy and successful marriage. In the true Christian marriage neither partner is. the master, for then they would, not be part* ners; but they are working equally together, though very differently, to help forward God's Kingdom on this earth. Partnership Each partner has something different. to give—man, because of his strength has the more active, qualities. He is the protector and support of his wife and family, and is guided by reason and ambition. Woman, on tlie other hand, us the more static member. She is the centre of the home, and the qualities of tenderness, patience and intuition which she possesses are a steadying influence.. For woman is the fixed point in marriage. The wife and mother is l not only the centre of the home but of the community, for each time is a little community. She is there to guide, to teach, to help, to advise, and above all to influence all those. Avho come within the radius of her home. - The Purpose of Marriage In the Book of Order of the Church