Duties of children and parents.
It must have been an interesting day in the Church of Ephesus when it was known that a pastoral letter would be read in the public assembly from the beloved and venerable apostle whose labors had been attended with such a blessing. Whether the meeting was held in early morning or late in the evening, every effort would be made by every Christian to be present, and even as they were walking towards the place of meeting, a certain briskness of manner and eagerness of expression would show that something beyond the common was in expectation. Those who had to pass the great temple of Diana would cast no lingering look behind, nor think of the contrast between that magnificent shrine of idolatry and the very humble building where the true God was worshipped, by whom all things were made. Even the children would not linger to peep at the gorgeous glory of the temple, for their parents would have told them that at their meeting a letter was going to be read from the great apostle, now unable to come to them because wicked men had imprisoned him, but still remembering them all, as his letter would show. Remembering the interest which, like his Master, the apostle had taken in the young, it would be an interesting question whether the letter to be read would not contain some passage for them, and, if it did, what would be its tenor? Perhaps the most attentive of them would be beginning to feel weary as five-sixths of the letter was read, but no word yet for them. But at last the message comes; and when it comes it appears that it is not only about them, but addressed to them; the apostle looks them full in the face, and says, "Children." And when the children's morsel is brought out, it is perhaps not quite what they expected. It is not a sugared morsel, nor is it particularly affectionate in its terms. It is not a nice little story or a poetical allegory, carrying them to the realms of dreamland; it is just a simple, practical requirements" Children, obey your parents in the Lord." Possibly even the older hearers were rather surprised, and certainly there are many now who would have expected a more spiritual counsel. They would have expected him to say something to the children about Jesus, or about prayer, or about trying to teach the heathen around them; hut he speaks on none of these things. He probably counted that, if the children were right with their parents, other things would follow; if they obeyed their parents, and their parents brought them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, God's blessing would rest on their efforts and all would be well. But if the apostle did not speak to children in the modern fashion, it is all the more important to notice and ponder the message which he actually gives them.
I. DUTY OF CHILDREN.
1. To obey.
2. To honor their parents. The reasons are—
In one of the best books of the early Church, written by one of its greatest men—'The Confessions' of St. Augustine—there is a chapter in which he humbly confesses his disobedience as a boy, in neglecting his lessons, and going to see games and sights in opposition to the wishes of his parents. Long after, when he came to be a Christian, the thought haunted and distressed him until, confessing it, and laying it on Jesus, he obtained the mercy and forgiveness of God. Long life among the Jews was a token of the Divine favor, and it seems to have been an emblem of the life to come. We need not count in all cases on a literal fulfillment of the Jewish promise; but we may rest assured that a spirit of honor to our parents tends to make our earthly lot better and brighter, and will have some recognition likewise in the life that is to come.
II. DUTY OF PARENTS.
1. Negatively. Not to provoke or irritate their children. But:
2. Positively, to bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. In the Old Testament, Samuel, and in the New Testament, Timothy, are samples of children so brought up. The Lord's command is, "Bring up this child for me, and I will pay thee thy wages." What infinitely precious results depend on the execution of these two precepts! Every well-trained Christian household is a nursery of all that tends to bless the world; while disorderly and unchristian families are hotbeds of vice and evil. The prayer of the hundred and forty-fourth psalm is never out of date: "That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; our daughters as cornerstones, polished after the similitude of a palace.... Happy is that people that is in such a case; yea, happy is that people whose God is the Lord."