THE CHRISTAIN MOTHER By John Abbot- 1833. Chapter One:Part Three

THE CHRISTIAN MOTHER
by John Abbott, 1833, Worcester, Mass. Published by the American Tract Society

Read: Chapter One: Part One

Read: Part Two

Part: Three:

The Mother's RESPONSIBILITY
"Be an example . . . in speech, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity." 1 Timothy 4:12
"Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." Proverbs 22:6

It is a great trial to have children undutiful when young; but it is a tenfold greater affliction to have a child grow up to maturity in disobedience, and become a dissolute and abandoned man. How many parents have passed days of sorrow and nights of sleeplessness in consequence of the misconduct of their offspring! How many have had their hearts broken, and their gray hairs brought down with sorrow to the grave, solely in consequence of their own neglect to train up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord! Your future happiness is in the hands of your children. They may throw gloom over all your prospects, embitter every enjoyment, and make you so miserable, that your only prospect of relief will be in death.
That little girl whom you now cuddle upon your knee, and who plays, so full of enjoyment, upon your floor, has entered a world where temptations are thick around. What is to enable her to resist these temptations, but established principles of piety? And where is she to obtain these principles, but from a mother's instructions and example? If, through your neglect now, she should hereafter yield herself to temptation and sin, what must become of your peace of mind? O mother! little are you aware of the wretchedness with which your beloved daughter may hereafter overwhelm you!
Many illustrations of the most affecting nature might be here introduced. It would be easy to appeal to a vast number of living sufferers, in attestation of the woe which the sin of the child has occasioned. You may go, not only in imagination, but in reality, to the darkened chamber, where the mother sits weeping, and refusing to be comforted, for a daughter is lost to virtue and to heaven. Still, no person can imagine how overwhelming the agony which must prey upon a mother thus dishonored and broken-hearted. This is a sorrow which can only be understood by one who has tasted its bitterness and felt its weight. We may go to the house of piety and prayer, and find the father and mother with countenances emaciated with suffering; not a smile plays upon their features, and the mournful accents of their voice tell how deeply seated is their sorrow. Shall we inquire into the cause of this heart- rending grief? The mother would only reply with tears and sobs. The father would summon all his fortitude, and say, "my daughter"—and say no more. The anguish of his spirit would prevent the farther utterance of his grief.
Is this exaggeration? No! Let your lovely daughter, now your pride and joy, be abandoned to infamy, be an outcast from society, and you must feel what language cannot express.
This is a dreadful subject; but it is one which the mother must feel and understand. There are facts which might here be introduced, sufficient to make every parent tremble. We might lead you to the dwelling of the clergyman, and tell you that a daughter's sin has shattered the mother, and sent paleness to the cheek, and trembling to the frame, and agony to the heart of the aged father. We might carry you to the parlor of the rich man, and show you all the elegance and the opulence with which he is surrounded; and yet he would tell you that he was one of the most unhappy of the sons of affliction, and that he would gladly give all his treasures if he could purchase back a daughter's virtue; that he could gladly lie down to die, if he could thus blot out the remembrance of a daughter's infamy.
No matter what your situation in life may be, that little child, now so innocent, whose playful endearments and happy laugh awaken such thrilling emotions in your heart, may cause you years of most unalleviated misery!
And mother! look at that drunken vagrant, staggering by your door. Listen to his horrid imprecations, as bloated and ragged he passes along. That wretch has a mother. Perhaps, widowed and in poverty, she needs the comfort and support of an affectionate son. You have a son. You may soon be a widow.
If your son is dissolute, you are doubly widowed; you are worse, infinitely worse than childless. You cannot now endure even the thought that your son will ever be thus abandoned. How dreadful then must be the experience of the reality!

Continue to read: Chapter One: Part Four

The Influence On Childen From Parents Example.

"Instruction, and advice, and commands will profit little, unless they are backed up by the pattern of your own life. Your children will never believe you are earnest, and really wish them to obey you, as long as your own actions contradict your counsel. Archbishop Tillotson made a wise remark when he said, "To give children good instruction, and a bad example, is but beckoning to them with the head to show them the way to heaven, while we take them by the hand and lead them to hell."

We little know the force and power of example. No one of us can live to himself in this world; we are always influencing those around us, in one way or another, either for good or for evil, either for God or for sin.--- They see our ways, they mark our conduct, they observe our behavior, and what they see us practice, that they may fairly suppose we think right. And never, I believe, does example tell so powerfully as it does in the case of parents and children.

Fathers and mothers, do not forget that children learn more by the eye than they do by the ear. No school will make such deep marks on the character as home. The best of schoolmasters will not imprint on their minds as much as they will pick up at your fireside. Imitation is a far stronger principle with children than memory. What they see has a much stronger effect on their minds than what they are told.

Take care, then, what you do before a child. It is a true proverb, "Who sins before a child, sins double." (OR What parents allow in moderation, children will do in excess. (added from "preachers at home") ) Strive rather to be a living epistle of Christ, such as your families can read, and that plainly too. Be an example of reverence for the Word of God, reverence in prayer, reverence for means of grace, reverence for the Lord's day.----Be an example in words, in temper, in diligence, in temperance, in faith, in charity, in kindness, in humility. Think not your children will practice what they do not see you do. You are their model picture, and they will copy what you are. Your reasoning and your lecturing, your wise commands, and your good advice; all this they may not understand, but they can understand your life.

Children are very quick observers; very quick in seeing through some kinds of hypocrisy, very quick in finding out what you really think and feel, very quick in adopting all your ways and opinions. You will often find as the father, so is the son.

Remember the word that the conqueror Ceasar always used to his soldiers in a battle. He did not say "Go forward," but "Come." So it must be with you in training your children. They will seldom learn habits which they see you despise, or walk in paths in which you do not walk yourself. He that preaches to his children what he does not practice, is working a work that never goes forward. It is like the fabled web of Penelope of old, who wove all day, and unwove all night. Even so, the parent who tries to train without setting a good example is building with one hand, and pulling down with the other."

"The Duties Of Parents" by J.C. Ryle (XIV pages 31 and 32.)

Be Strong!

Be Strong!


We are not here to play, to dream, to drift;

We have hard work to do, and loads to lift;

Shun not the struggle -face it; ' tis God's gift.

Be Strong!

Say not, "The days are evil. Who's to blame?"

And fold the hands and acquiesce* --oh shame!

Stand up, speak out, and bravely, in God's name.

Be Strong!

It matters not how deep intrenched the wrong,

How hard the battle goes, the day long;

Faint not--fight on! Tomorrow comes the song.

By --- Maltbie Davenport Babcock 1858-1901

*To consent or comply passively or without protest.

Are Your Children Putting On the Whole Armor Of God Daily? -- INTRODUCTION OF SEVEN PARTS

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in heavenly places. Therefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girded about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, with which you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thus with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
(Ephesians 6:10-18)

As I woke up to the radio alarm one morning, I was hearing a sermon about putting on the whole armor of God. I listened with great interest and remember very keenly hearing the, "still small voice" of God in the depth of my soul, telling me to apply this to my life. I heard the sermon again that day, (This station played sermons twice daily) and began to study Ephesians Chapter 6.

I WAS ALARMED! Was I hearing that we should put on the armor of God daily?
Could this be? But according to the sermon I had heard and the Word of God, yes, this is what we should do. I became very, very sober at the thought that my walk with God is daily . . Luke 9:23 "And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. " and Ephesians 6:10-18, (above), this tells me I must put on the armor of God in order to stand in the evil day. I thought, this certainly is an evil day!

As I grew in the understanding of putting on the armor of God piece by piece, and practiced doing so, I became very excited to see the spiritual strength and deliverance God gave me through doing so.

It came to my attention that my young ones needed to know about the armor of God, but how was I to communicate this lesson to them? And so with prayer and seeking God's direction, I came up with a plan.

WE MADE A SOLDIER!

Our soldier and his armor pieces were made from cardboard. The soldier himself had to have armor placed over his clothing, so we used Velcro strips to fasten the pieces. Our soldier looked somewhat like the one pictured above. The children colored in the armor pieces and we wrote on each one it's meaning.

I explained to my young ones the duties of a Roman soldier and what each piece of armor was used for:

The Girdle--Here was the point of junction for the main pieces of the body-armor, so that the girdle formed the common bond of the whole, it helped to hold the armor together.

The Breastplate--The breastplate covers the vital parts, as the heart, to help protect from the sword of the enemy.

The Sandals or shoes-- the sandals, bound by thongs over the instep and round the ankle, and having the soles thickly studded with nails so they could stand their ground in times of battle.

The Shield-- The shield here described is that of the heavy infantry; a large, oblong shield, four by two and a half feet, and sometimes curved on the inner side. It served to shield from hard blows and arrows that were covered with a type of pitch and set on fire.

The Helmet--The protection for the head. The helmet was originally of skin, strengthened with bronze or other metal.

The Sword--serves both for attack and to parry the thrusts of the enemy.

I told them to think how a Roman soldier had to act on the mornings when a battle was about to begin. He would rise quickly when awakened, and immediately put on his armor piece by piece so he would be ready when the battle cry was heard, it meant his very life.

I told them to imagine this soldier jumping up and dressing in a clown suit instead of armor and then running out to the battle field. He wouldn't last long would he? No, because he had no protection and he would be cut down right away, not only that, but the enemy would probably laugh at him.

Then I explained our spiritual enemy, the devil. We memorized Ephesians 6 and talked about the unseen battle that is in the spiritual realm. We talked about the Captain of our souls, the Lord Jesus Christ, and how He has all power over the enemy. Jesus told us to put on the armor, it is HIS armor, not ours, and we need to obey Him. The children were very excited about the whole idea and began the practice of putting on the armor.

This introduction about putting on the whole armor of God is simply to explain why we do so. For the next seven blogs I hope to explain each piece of God's armor and how we have been putting it on almost daily for the past 16 years, not as a ritual but as a living reminder and example of the spiritual battle we are all engaged in.

Here is a commentary by John Gill about the Armour of God, that I appreciate very much:

Eph 6:11 Put on the whole armour of God... Not that which God himself is sometimes clothed with, and uses against his enemies; but what he has provided for his people, and furnishes them with; the particulars of which are after mentioned: and it is called "the armour of God", because it is prepared by him for his people, and is bestowed on them by him; and because it is in its own nature divine and spiritual, and not carnal; and because it is provided for fighting the Lord's battles, and is used in them; and because the efficacy of it is from him, and the execution it does is owing to him: and it is whole, complete, and perfect; and all of it is useful, and no part to be neglected, but all to be taken and "put on"; which is not to make and provide this armour, but to take it, as in Eph_6:13; as being ready made and provided, and to expect and prepare for battle, and make use of it; and this supposes saints to be in a warfare state, and that they are in the character of soldiers, and have enemies to fight with, and therefore should be accoutred with proper and suitable armour, to meet them:

that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil; who is the grand enemy of Christ and his people, and a very powerful and cunning one he is; so that the whole armour of God should be put on, which is proof against all his might and craft, in order to stand against him, oppose him, and fight, and get the victory over him, which in the issue is always obtained by believers; for they not only stand their ground in the strength of Christ, and by the use of their armour confound his schemes, and baffle all his arts and stratagems, but are more than conquerors through him that has loved them.

To be continued...God willing!

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
(Ephesians 6:10)

Please See: Part 1-Truth
And: Part 2- Righteousness
Part 3- The Preperation of the Gospel of Peace
Part 4- The Shield Of Faith