I had the wonderful privilege of growing up in a Christian home – one where I never doubted my parents’ love for me, or their love for God and His son Jesus. This hymn sums up my feelings about what it’s like to live in a home where God and His Holy Spirit are present.
Our home was a place where Jesus’ name was spoken often – with reverence, and in praise. My parents taught us about God and Jesus through stories, songs, and life lessons. All the children in my family chose to follow Him at a young age, due to our parents’ influence and guidance. My parents loved the Word, and were diligent to teach us, as parents are exhorted to do in this passage:
Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. Deut. 6:4-9
I am thankful for a mom who followed the Word, especially Titus 2, to love her husband, love her children and work hard at home. Among many other things, she taught me scripture and theology, mostly through songs that I still sing today. I am so grateful for her example, and for providing a home that was happy because God was there.
Happy Birthday, Mom. I love you.
Happy the Home when God is There
Words by Henry Ware, Jr.
Happy the home when God is there,
And love fills every breast;
When one their wish, and one their prayer,
And one their heav’nly rest.
Happy the home where Jesus’ Name
Is sweet to every ear;
Where children early speak His fame,
And parents hold Him dear.
Happy the home where prayer is heard,
And praise each day does rise;
Where parents love the sacred Word
And all its wisdom prize.
Lord, let us in our homes agree
This blessed peace to gain;
Unite our hearts in love to Thee,
And love to all will reign.
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1 comment:
Thanks for posting Henry Ware's fine hymn about the Christian home. (Today is the 216th anniversary of his birth.) I too had the privilege of being raised by dedicated Christian parents. And I also gained a love of good music, and especially sacred music, in our home. That heritage eventually gave birth to Wordwise Hymns.
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