In the Home, February 6

God's Law Given to Be a Blessing

And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates. Deuteronomy 6:9.SD 43.1

From the earliest times the faithful in Israel had given much attention to the matter of education. The Lord had directed that the children, even from babyhood, should be taught of His goodness and His greatness, especially as revealed in His law and shown in the history of Israel. Through song and prayer, and lessons from the Scriptures, adapted to the opening mind, fathers and mothers were to instruct their children that the law of God is an expression of His character, and that as they received the principles of the law into the heart, the image of God was traced on mind and soul.^{17Child Guidance, 32.}SD 43.2

If it was essential for Moses to embody the commandments in sacred song, so that as they marched in the wilderness, the children could learn to sing the law verse by verse, how essential it is at this time to teach our children God's Word! ^{18The Review and Herald, September 8, 1904.}SD 43.3

True happiness in this life and in the future life depends upon obedience to a “Thus saith the Lord.” ... Let Christ's life be the pattern. Satan will devise every possible means to break down this high standard of piety as one altogether too strict. It is your work to impress upon your children in their early years the thought that they are formed in the image of God. Christ came to this world to give them a living example of what they all must be, and parents who claim to believe the truth for this time are to teach their children to love God and to obey His law. This is the greatest and most important work that fathers and mothers can do.^{19Child Guidance, 80, 81.}SD 43.4

The great reformative movement must begin in the home. Obedience to God's law is the great incentive to industry, economy, truthfulness, and just dealing between man and man.^{20Child Guidance, 489.}SD 43.5

A noble, all-round manhood does not come by chance. It is the result of the molding process of character building in the early years of youth, and a practice of the law of God in the home.^{21Child Guidance, 42.}SD 43.6