Covenanter Witness Vol. 53 - Rparchives.org

nothing."sacrifice"part."part"pace"Lesson Helps for the Week of October 3, 1954MY PARTC.Y.P.U. TOPICOctober 3, 1954IN THE HOMEEphesians 5:22-28; 6:1-10.(Note: In the C.Y.P.U. Yearbook, thepassage is listed as Ephesians 3. This isan error. The passage is listed correctlyin this column.)PSALMS:78:1-6, page 187112:1-3, page 277101:1,2,6,7, page 23834:6-11, page 82131:1-3, page 327REFERENCES: Deuteronomy 11:18,19;27:16; Prov. 2:1; 3:1; 4:1; 5:1, 2;5:20; Luke 2:40; I Peter 3:1-4; Colossians 2:6-8; 3:18-24.Comments by Remo I. Robb, D.D.The first three topics for Octoberhave as their general theme "My Part."They deal with various personal situations in which the Christian young person finds himself. The topic reminds meof the 1947 Grinnell Conventicle theme*"Christ's ProgramMy Part."First, there is the Home. Usually achild "finds himself" already part of ahome. He had nothing to do with selecting it, with setting it up. When he"comes to himself" he is already partof a family, and he continues to be apart until he is of age (21) or longer.The Scripture passage gives counselto every member of the household. Tothe wife (5:22), the husband (5:25), thechildren (6:1), the servants (6:5), andthe master (6:9). A thought repeatedhere is "unto the Lord," "in the Lord,""unto Christ." Clearly, the home is setforth here as one of Christ's institutions,and every member has a part in it.SABBATH SCHOOL. TEACHER(Continued from page 168)That day the girl opened her heart. Shehas been writing to that teacher eversince, over many years, though they arenow long separated. That teacherreached with that lesson."God so loved the world, that he gavehis only You know the rest of it.What will you give for some childrenwho may not look more attractive thanthe world of that day looked to Nicodemus. You must look with the eye thatsees a bit of the world for which that"only Son" died.See! Understand! Love! This is thefirst requirement.September 15, 1954George S. ColemanThe tragedy of our modern homes isthat the members are not doing theirparts. Husbands and wives do not behave toward each other as "unto theLord," and one out of every four marriages fails. As one popular magazineglibs "There's too much T do'aboutBut while broken homes arelikely to be the breeding places of misfitting children, they are not to beburdened with the entire blame forthem. An attorney defending a youngNew York thrill murderer recently askedfor mercy on the ground of a brokenhome. But the judge would not hear.Each man sets his own course of life, hesaid, and if the young man knew hishome to have been a failure he shouldhave worked harder than ever to doright personally.Most readers of these comments aremembers of homes where father andmother are trying sincerely to live "untothe Lord." Your problem is "myWhere do I fit into my home and howcan I help make it what God intends itto be?1. My Part is Submission.When Jesus went to Nazareth withJoseph and Mary, we read that He was"subject unto them'' (Luke 2:51). OurLord therefore is the first and primaryexample of submission in the home.The Bible speaks very plainly aboutthis. Insubordination to parents broughta curse (Deut. 27:16), subjection is ablessing (Prov. 10:1). Remember the emphasis God put on obedience"Toobey is better thai;(1 Samuel15:22). The home is the training schoolfor all life, and submission in the homeinstills into children respect and obedience to superiors and to law.2. My Part is Cooperation.A home is a complete organization initself. It is hard to realize into how manychannels home efforts go. There is theincome channelusually dad's responsibility. Then there is home maintenance, indoors and outdoors; there arethree meals a day to plan, prepare andclean up after. There is the clothingproblem for the entire household. Thereare monthly bills, taxes, transportation;there is education, and most important,religious instruction. Parents have allthese and other organizational responsibilities always in mind. But as a childin the home, I haven't that responsibility. It's all taken care of for me, and Ihave free board and room, laundry, TVand a car key. Since the home is "untothe Lord," and since the Golden Ruleis the Lord's life standard for me, itneeds hardly be stated that "myin my home involves working with myparents in operating a smooth organization, and that from everybody workingtogether my home will best be knownas one dedicated "unto the Lord."3. My Part is Instruction.The prophet Isaiah once wrote "Thouhast given me the tongue of the learned"Language study indicates that a betterword would be "learner." The tongue ofthe learner is a quiet tongue. That thehome is God's place for instruction alsohas much Bible emphasis. Parents are tobe teachers (Deut. 6:7), so children mustbe learners. Solomon speaks of it repeatedly in Proverbs (Prov. 2:1; 3:1;4:1; 5:1,2; 5:20 and others).Where did you learn to talk, to dressyourself, to eat with spoon, fork, andknife? As you grew older, who taughtthe girls to make the bed, to sweep, todust? Who taught the boys to fire thefurnace, to fix a light cord, to mow alawn? Nearly all of our habitual activities we learned at home. At home, too,we learned of our Lord,and of the worship at His House, until staying awayfrom church leaves us with lost and idlehours on the Day of days.4. My Part is Dependence.There come times in every life, whenwe must cut loose from the past andstrike out on our own way of living. Andyet we grow out of our pasts. The influences of my home have colored my entire life. I look back with many fondmemories. After a while a boy with onehome pattern meets the girl with a different home background. Together theybuild a new one. And frequently as theyestablish their new home pattern, theysay "This was the way I learned it." Thebest of home ideas go to make a newpattern which a new generation will follow.To have a home to depend on, to pattern after, to continue in a new personalexperience"My Part."FOR DISCUSSIONthat is the culmination of1. Discuss the part of a Christianyoung person in an unchristian home.2. How may a youngperson effectchanges in a home pattern without seeming to dishonor the parents?3. Is a family council good for thehome?4. How adjust the apparent faster paceof the late '40s and early '50s with the"slowerparents were young?of the '20s and '30s when5. What benefit will the part youhave contributed to your present homebe to your ideas of your own home?169