Lesson 11
December 9 -
15
A Friend
for All Seasons
Memory
Text:
(Prov 13:20 NRSV) Whoever walks
with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools suffers
harm.
Sabbath
Afternoon
(Prov 27:9-10
NKJV) Ointment and perfume delight
the heart, And the sweetness of a man's friend gives delight by hearty counsel.
{10} Do not forsake your own friend or your father's friend, Nor go to your
brother's house in the day of your calamity; Better is a neighbor nearby
than a brother far away.
(Prov 13:20
NKJV) He who walks with wise
men will be wise, But the companion of fools will be
destroyed.
(Prov 27:6
NKJV) Faithful are the wounds
of a friend, But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.
(Prov 25:21-22
NKJV) If your enemy is hungry,
give him bread to eat; And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; {22}
For so you will heap coals of fire on his head, And the LORD will reward
you.
(Prov 31:20
NKJV) She extends her hand to
the poor, Yes, she reaches out her hands to the needy.
Sunday
A True
Friend
(Gen 2:18
NKJV) And the LORD God said,
"It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable
to him."
(Phil 4:3
NKJV) And I urge you also, true
companion, help these women who labored with me in the gospel, with Clement
also, and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of
Life.
(Prov 27:9-10
NRSV) Perfume and incense make
the heart glad, but the soul is torn by trouble. {10} Do not forsake your
friend or the friend of your parent; do not go to the house of your kindred
in the day of your calamity. Better is a neighbor who is nearby than kindred
who are far away.
(Prov 27:9-10
NKJV) Ointment and perfume delight
the heart, And the sweetness of a man's friend gives delight by hearty counsel.
{10} Do not forsake your own friend or your father's friend, Nor go to your
brother's house in the day of your calamity; Better is a neighbor nearby
than a brother far away.
Monday
Friend Or
Fool?
Messages to
Young People, pp. 411 - 412
Chap. 139 - The Influence of
Association It is inevitable
that the youth will have associates, and they will necessarily feel their
influence. There are mysterious links that bind souls together, so that the
heart of one answers to the heart of another. One catches the ideas, the
sentiments, the spirit, of another. This association may be a blessing or
a curse. The youth may help and strengthen one another, improving in deportment,
in disposition, in knowledge; or, by permitting themselves to become careless
and unfaithful, they may exert an influence that is
demoralizing. {MYP
411.1}
The matter of choosing associates is one which students should learn
to consider seriously. Among the youth who attend our schools there will
always be found two classes, those who seek to please God and to obey their
teachers, and those who are filled with a spirit of lawlessness. If the youth
go with the multitude to do evil, their influence will be cast on the side
of the adversary of souls; they will mislead those who have not cherished
principles of unswerving fidelity. {MYP 411.2}
It has been truly said, "Show me your company, and I will show you
your character." The youth fail to realize how sensibly both their character
and their reputation are affected by their choice of associates. One seeks
the company of those whose tastes and habits and practices are congenial.
He who prefers the society of the ignorant and vicious to that of the wise
and good, shows that this own (p. 412) character is defective. His tastes
and habits may at first be altogether dissimilar to the tastes and habits
of those whose company he seeks; but as he mingles with this class, his thoughts
and feelings change; he sacrifices right principles, and insensibly yet
unavoidably sinks to the level of his companions. As a stream always partakes
of the property of the soil through which it runs, so the principles and
habits of youth invariably become tinctured with the character of the company
in which they mingle. . . . {MYP
411.3}
The Measure of Strength
Strength of character consists of two things,-- power of
will, and power of self-control. Many youth mistake strong, uncontrolled
passion for strength of character; but the truth is that he who is mastered
by his passions is a weak man. The real greatness and nobility of the man
is measured by his power to subdue his feelings, not by the power of his
feelings to subdue him. The strongest man is he, who, while sensitive to
abuse, will yet restrain passion and forgive his
enemies. {MYP 412.1}
God has given us intellectual and moral power; but to a great extent
every one is the architect of his own character. Every day the structure
more nearly approaches completion. The word of God warns us to take heed
how we build, to see that our building is founded upon the eternal rock.
The time is coming when our work will stand revealed just as it is. Now is
the time for all to cultivate the powers that God has given them, that they
may
(p. 413) form characters for usefulness
here and for a higher life hereafter.
{MYP 412.2}
(Prov 24:1-2
NKJV) Do not be envious of evil
men, Nor desire to be with them; {2} For their heart devises violence, And
their lips talk of troublemaking.
The Power of the Will
The
tempted one needs to understand the true force of the will. This is the governing
power in the nature of man--the power of decision, of choice. Everything
depends on the right action of the will. Desires for goodness and purity
are right, so far as they go; but if we stop here, they avail nothing. Many
will go down to ruin while hoping and desiring to overcome their evil
propensities. They do not yield the will to God. They do not choose to serve
Him. {MH
176.1}
God has given us the power of choice; it is ours to exercise. We cannot
change our hearts, we cannot control our thoughts, our impulses, our affections.
We cannot make ourselves pure, fit for God's service. But we can choose to
serve God, we can give Him our will; then He will work in us to will and
to do according to His good pleasure. Thus our whole nature will be brought
under the control of Christ. {MH
176.2}
Through the right exercise of the will, an entire change may be made
in the life. By yielding up the will to Christ, we ally ourselves with divine
power. We receive strength from above to hold us steadfast. A pure and noble
life, a life of victory over appetite and lust, is possible to everyone who
will unite his weak, wavering human will to the omnipotent, unwavering will
of God. {MH
176.3}
Those who are struggling against the power of appetite should be
instructed in the principles of healthful living. They should be shown that
violation of the laws of health, by creating diseased conditions and unnatural
cravings, lays the foundation of the liquor habit. Only by living in obedience
to the (p. 177) principles of health can they hope to be freed from the craving
for unnatural stimulants. While they depend upon divine strength to break
the bonds of appetite, they are to co-operate with God by obedience to His
laws, both moral and physical. {MH
176.4}
Tuesday
Wounds Or
Kisses?
(Prov 27:6
NKJV) Faithful are the wounds
of a friend, But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.
(Prov
27:6 KJV) Faithful are the wounds
of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.
(Isa
53:5 NKJV) But He was wounded
for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement
for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are
healed.
Messages to Young
People, p. 406
It
is this willing, loving ministry for others in times of necessity that is
accounted precious with God. Thus even while attending school, students may,
if true to their profession, be living missionaries for God. All this will
take time; but the time thus employed is profitably spent, for in this way
the student is learning how to present Christianity to the
world. {MYP
406.1}
Christ did not refuse to mingle with others in friendly intercourse.
When invited to a feast by Pharisee or publican, He accepted the invitation.
On such occasions every word that He uttered was a savor of life unto life
to His hearers; for He made the dinner hour an occasion of imparting many
precious lessons adapted to their needs. Christ thus taught His disciples
how to conduct themselves when in the company of those who were not religious
as well as of those who were.--"Testimonies for the Church," Vol. 6, pp.
172, 173. {MYP
406.2}
Christians should regard it as a religious
duty to repress a spirit of envy or emulation. They should rejoice in the
superior reputation or prosperity of their brethren, even when their own
character or achievements seem to be cast in the shade. It was the pride
and ambition cherished in the heart of Satan that banished him from heaven.
These evils are deeply rooted in our fallen nature, and if not removed they
will overshadow every good and noble quality and bring forth envy and strife
as their baleful fruits. {5T
242.1}
We should seek for true goodness rather than greatness. Those who
possess the mind of Christ will have humble views of themselves. They will
labor for the purity and prosperity of the church, and be ready to sacrifice
their own interests and desires rather than to cause dissension among their
brethren. {5T
242.2}
Satan is constantly seeking to cause distrust, alienation, and malice
among God's people. We shall be often tempted to feel that our rights are
invaded, when there is no real cause for such feelings. Those whose love
for self is stronger than their love for Christ and His cause will place
their own interests first and resort to almost any expedient to guard and
maintain them. When they consider themselves injured by their brethren, some
will even go to law instead of following the Saviour's rule. Even many who
appear to be conscientious Christians are hindered by pride and self-esteem
from going privately to those they think in error, that they may talk the
matter over in the spirit of Christ and pray for one another. Contentions,
strife, and lawsuits between brethren are a disgrace to
(p. 243) the cause of truth. Those
who take such a course expose the church to the ridicule of her enemies and
cause the powers of darkness to triumph. They are piercing the wounds of
Christ afresh and putting Him to an open shame. By ignoring the authority
of the church they show contempt for God, who gave to the church its
authority. {5T
242.3}
Wednesday
The
Saving Value Of Hospitality
(Prov 25:21-22
NKJV) If your enemy is hungry,
give him bread to eat; And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; {22}
For so you will heap coals of fire on his head, And the LORD will reward
you.
(Mat 5:43-45
NKJV) "You have heard that it
was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' {44} "But I
say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those
who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,
{45} "that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun
rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the
unjust.
(Luke 5:30-32
NKJV) And their scribes and
the Pharisees complained against His disciples, saying, "Why do You eat and
drink with tax collectors and sinners?" {31} Jesus answered and said to them,
"Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.
{32} "I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to
repentance."
(Luke 7:33-34
NKJV) "For John the Baptist
came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, 'He has a demon.'
{34} "The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, 'Look, a
glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and
sinners!'
It was by personal contact and association that Jesus trained His
disciples. Sometimes He taught them, sitting among them on the mountainside;
sometimes beside the sea, or walking with them by the way, He revealed the
mysteries of the kingdom of God. He did not sermonize as men do today. Wherever
hearts were open to receive the divine message, He unfolded the truths of
the way of salvation. He did not command His disciples to do this or that,
but said, "Follow Me." On His journeys through country and cities He took
them with Him, that they might see how He taught the people. He linked their
interest with His, and they united with Him in the
work. {DA
152.1}
The example of Christ in linking Himself with the interests of humanity
should be followed by all who preach His word, and by all who have received
the gospel of His grace. We are not to renounce social communion. We should
not seclude ourselves from others. In order to reach all classes, we must
meet them where they are. They will seldom seek us of their own accord. Not
alone from the pulpit are the hearts of men touched by divine truth. There
is another field of labor, humbler, it may be, but fully as promising. It
is found in the home of the lowly, and in the mansion of the great; at the
hospitable board, and in gatherings for innocent social
enjoyment. {DA
152.2}
As disciples of Christ we shall not mingle with the world from a mere
love of pleasure, to unite with them in folly. Such associations can result
only in harm. We should never give sanction to sin by our words or our deeds,
our silence or our presence. Wherever we go, we are to carry Jesus with us,
and to reveal to others the preciousness of our Saviour. But those who try
to preserve their religion by hiding it within stone walls lose precious
opportunities of doing good. Through the social relations, Christianity comes
in contact with the world. Everyone who has received the divine illumination
is to brighten the pathway of those who know not the Light of
life. {DA
152.3}
We should all become witnesses for Jesus. Social power, sanctified
by the grace of Christ, must be improved in winning souls to the Saviour.
Let the world see that we are not selfishly absorbed in our own interests,
but that we desire others to share our blessings and privileges. Let them
see that our religion does not make us unsympathetic or exacting. Let all
who profess to have found Christ, minister as He did for the benefit of
men. {DA
152.4}
We should never give to the world the false impression that Christians
are a gloomy, unhappy people. If our eyes are fixed on Jesus, we shall (p.
153) see a compassionate Redeemer, and shall catch light from His countenance.
Wherever His Spirit reigns, there peace abides. And there will be joy also,
for there is a calm, holy trust in God.
{DA 152.5}
Thursday
Kindness To
Strangers
(Rom 12:10-13
NKJV) Be kindly affectionate
to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another;
{11} not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; {12}
rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer;
{13} distributing to the needs of the saints, given to
hospitality.
(1 Pet 4:9-10
NKJV) Be hospitable to one another
without grumbling. {10} As each one has received a gift, minister it to one
another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
These admonitions have been strangely neglected. Even among those
who profess to be Christians, true hospitality is little exercised. Among
our own people the opportunity of showing hospitality is not regarded as
it should be, as a privilege and blessing. There is altogether too little
sociability, too little of a disposition to make room for two or three more
at the family board, without embarrassment or parade. Some plead that "it
is too much trouble." It would not be if you would say: We have made no special
preparation, but you are welcome to what we have." By the unexpected guest
a welcome is appreciated far more than is the most elaborate
preparation. {6T
343.1}
It is a denial of Christ to make preparation for visitors which requires
time that rightly belongs to the Lord. In this we commit robbery of God.
And we wrong others as well. In preparing an elaborate entertainment, many
deprive their own families of needed attention, and their example leads others
to follow the same course. {6T
343.2}
Needless worries and burdens are created by the desire to make a display
in entertaining visitors. In order to prepare a great variety for the table,
the housewife over works; because of the many dishes prepared, the guests
overeat; and disease and suffering, from overwork on the one hand and overeating
on the other, are the result. These elaborate feasts are a burden and an
injury. {6T
343.3}
But the Lord designs that we shall care for the interests of our brethren
and sisters. The apostle Paul has given an illustration of this. To the church
at Rome he says: "I commend unto you Phebe our sister, which is a servant
of the church which is at Cenchrea: that ye (p. 344) receive her in the Lord,
as becometh saints, and that ye assist her in whatsoever business she hath
need of you: for she hath been a succourer of many, and of myself also."
Romans 16:1, 2. Phebe entertained the apostle, and she was in a marked manner
an entertainer of strangers who needed care. Her example should be followed
by the churches of today. {6T 343.4}
(Heb 13:2
NKJV) Do not forget to entertain
strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained
angels.
Above all things, parents should surround their children with an
atmosphere of cheerfulness, courtesy, and love. A home where love dwells
and where it finds expression in looks, in words, in acts, is a place where
angels delight to dwell. Parents, let the sunshine of love, cheer, and happy
content enter your own hearts, and let its sweet influence pervade the home.
Manifest a kindly, forbearing spirit, and encourage the same in your children,
cultivating all those graces that will brighten the home life. The atmosphere
thus created will be to the children what air and sunshine are to the vegetable
world, promoting health and vigor of mind and
body. {CT
115.1}
Instead of sending her children from her that she may not be annoyed
by their noise or troubled by their little wants, let the mother plan amusement
or light work to employ the active hands and minds. By entering into their
feelings and directing their amusements and employments, the mother will
gain the confidence of her children; thus she can the more effectually correct
wrong habits or check the manifestation of selfishness or passion. A word
of caution or reproof spoken at the right time will be of great value. By
patient, watchful love she can turn the minds of the children in the right
direction, cultivating in them beautiful and attractive traits of
character. {CT
115.2}
Unpromising Children
There are some children
who need more patient discipline and kindly training than others. They have
received as a legacy unpromising traits of character, and because of this
they need the more of sympathy and love. (p. 116) By persevering labor these
wayward ones may be prepared for a place in the work of the Master. They
may possess undeveloped powers, which, when aroused, will enable them to
fill places far in advance of those from whom more has been
expected. {CT
115.3}
Brother
L, you rule with a rod of iron in your family. You are severe in the government
of your children. You will not gain their love by this course of management.
You are not tender, loving, affectionate, and courteous to your wife; but
are harsh, and bear down upon her, blaming and censuring her. A well-regulated,
orderly family is a pleasing sight to God and ministering angels. You must
learn how to make a home orderly, comfortable, and pleasant. Then adorn that
home with becoming dignity, and the spirit will be received by the children;
and order, regularity, and obedience will be more readily secured by both
of you. {2T
259.1}
Brother L, have you considered what a child is, and whither it is
going? Your children are the younger members of the Lord's family--brothers
and sisters entrusted to your care by your heavenly Father for you to train
and educate for heaven. When you are handling them so roughly as you have
frequently done, do you consider that God will call you to account for this
dealing? You should not use your children thus roughly. A child is not a
horse or a dog to be ordered about according to your imperious will, or to
be controlled under all circumstances by a stick or whip, or by blows with
the hand. Some children are so vicious in their tempers that the infliction
of pain is necessary, but very many cases are made much worse by this manner
of discipline. {2T
259.2}
You should control yourself. Never correct your children while impatient
or fretful, or while under the influence of passion. Punish them in love,
manifesting the unwillingness you feel to cause them pain. Never raise your
hand to give (p. 260) them a blow unless you can with a clear conscience
bow before God and ask His blessing upon the correction you are about to
give. Encourage love in the hearts of your children. Present before them
high and correct motives for self-restraint. Do not give them the impression
that they must submit to control because it is your arbitrary will; because
they are weak, and you are strong; because you are the father, they the children.
If you wish to ruin your family, continue to govern by brute force, and you
will surely succeed. {2T 259.3}
Lot,
Abraham's nephew, though he had made his home in Sodom, was imbued with the
patriarch's spirit of kindness and hospitality. Seeing at nightfall two strangers
at the city gate, and knowing the dangers sure to beset them in that wicked
city, Lot insisted on bringing them to his home. To the peril that might
result to himself and his household he gave no thought. It was a part of
his lifework to protect the imperiled and to care for the homeless, and the
deed performed in kindness to two unknown travelers brought angels to his
home. Those whom he sought to protect, protected him. At nightfall he had
led them for safety to his door; at the dawn they led him and his household
forth in safety from the gate of the doomed
city. {6T
342.1}
These acts of courtesy God thought of sufficient importance to record
in His word; and more than a thousand years later they were referred to by
an inspired apostle: "Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby
some have entertained angels unawares." Hebrews
13:2. {6T
342.2}
The privilege granted Abraham and Lot is not denied to us. By showing
hospitality to God's children we, too, may receive His angels into our dwellings.
Even in our day, angels in human form enter the homes of men and are entertained
by them. And Christians who live in the light of God's countenance are always
accompanied by unseen angels, and these holy beings leave behind them a blessing
in our homes. {6T 342.3}
"A lover of hospitality" is among the specifications given by the
Holy Spirit as marking one who is to bear responsibility in the church. And
to the whole church (p. 343) is given the injunction: "Use hospitality one
to another without grudging. As every man hath received the gift, even so
minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace
of God." 1 Peter 4:9, 10. {6T
342.4}
Friday
(Ruth 1:6-18
NKJV) Then she arose with her
daughters-in-law that she might return from the country of Moab, for she
had heard in the country of Moab that the LORD had visited His people by
giving them bread. {7} Therefore she went out from the place where she was,
and her two daughters-in-law with her; and they went on the way to return
to the land of Judah. {8} And Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, "Go,
return each to her mother's house. The LORD deal kindly with you, as you
have dealt with the dead and with me. {9} "The LORD grant that you may find
rest, each in the house of her husband." Then she kissed them, and they lifted
up their voices and wept. {10} And they said to her, "Surely we will return
with you to your people." {11} But Naomi said, "Turn back, my daughters;
why will you go with me? Are there still sons in my womb, that they may be
your husbands? {12} "Turn back, my daughters, go; for I am too old to have
a husband. If I should say I have hope, if I should have a husband tonight
and should also bear sons, {13} "would you wait for them till they were grown?
Would you restrain yourselves from having husbands? No, my daughters; for
it grieves me very much for your sakes that the hand of the LORD has gone
out against me!" {14} Then they lifted up their voices and wept again; and
Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. {15} And she said,
"Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return
after your sister-in-law." {16} But Ruth said: "Entreat me not to leave you,
Or to turn back from following after you; For wherever you go, I will go;
And wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people shall be my people, And
your God, my God. {17} Where you die, I will die, And there will I be buried.
The LORD do so to me, and more also, If anything but death parts you and
me." {18} When she saw that she was determined to go with her, she stopped
speaking to her.
(1 Sam 18:1-4
NKJV) Now when he had finished
speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and
Jonathan loved him as his own soul. {2} Saul took him that day, and would
not let him go home to his father's house anymore. {3} Then Jonathan and
David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul. {4} And Jonathan
took off the robe that was on him and gave it to David, with his armor, even
to his sword and his bow and his belt.
(2 Ki 2:1-3
NKJV) And it came to pass, when
the LORD was about to take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah
went with Elisha from Gilgal. {2} Then Elijah said to Elisha, "Stay here,
please, for the LORD has sent me on to Bethel." But Elisha said, "As the
LORD lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you!" So they went down
to Bethel. {3} Now the sons of the prophets who were at Bethel came out to
Elisha, and said to him, "Do you know that the LORD will take away your master
from over you today?" And he said, "Yes, I know; keep
silent!"
(Mat 27:55-56
NKJV) And many women who followed
Jesus from Galilee, ministering to Him, were there looking on from afar,
{56} among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses,
and the mother of Zebedee's sons.
(Luke 1:39-45
NKJV) Now Mary arose in those
days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah, {40}
and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. {41} And it happened,
when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb;
and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. {42} Then she spoke out with
a loud voice and said, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit
of your womb! {43} "But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my
Lord should come to me? {44} "For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting
sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. {45} "Blessed is
she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were
told her from the Lord."
The Adventist Home, pp. 445 - 465(not included
with lesson help)
Chap. 59 - The Influence of
Associates In our
institutions, where many are laboring together, the influence of association
is very great. It is natural to seek companionship. Everyone will find companions
or make them. And just in proportion to the strength of the friendship, will
be the amount of influence which friends will exert over one another for
good or for evil. All will have associates, and will influence and be influenced
in their turn. {4T
587.1}
The link is a mysterious one which binds human hearts together, so
that the feelings, tastes, and principles of two individuals are closely
blended. One catches the spirit, and copies the ways and acts, of the other.
As wax retains the figure of the seal, so the mind retains the impression
produced by intercourse and association. The influence may be unconscious,
yet it is no less powerful. {4T 587.2}
If the youth could be persuaded to associate with the pure, the
thoughtful, and the amiable, the effect would be most salutary. If choice
is made of companions who fear the Lord, the influence will lead to truth,
to duty, and to holiness. A truly Christian life is a power for good. But,
on the other hand, those who associate with men and women of questionable
morals, of bad principles and practices, will soon be walking in the same
path. The tendencies of the natural heart are downward. He who associates
with the skeptic will soon become skeptical; he who chooses the companionship
of the vile will most assuredly become vile. To walk in the counsel of the
ungodly is the first step toward standing in the way of sinners and sitting
in the seat of the scornful. (p. 588) {4T
587.3}
As life with its burden of perplexity and
care meets the newly wedded pair, the romance with which imagination so often
invests marriage disappears. Husband and wife learn each other's character
as it was impossible to learn it in their previous association. This is a
most critical period in their experience. The happiness and usefulness of
their whole future life depend upon their taking a right course now. Often
they discern in each other unsuspected weaknesses and defects; but the hearts
that love has united will discern excellencies also heretofore unknown. Let
all seek to discover the excellencies rather than the defects. Often it is
our own attitude, the atmosphere that surrounds ourselves, which determines
what will be revealed to us in another. There are many who regard the expression
of love as a weakness, and they maintain a reserve that repels others. This
spirit checks the current of sympathy. As the social and generous impulses
are repressed, they wither, and the heart becomes desolate and cold. We should
beware of this error. Love cannot long exist without expression. Let not
the heart of one connected with you starve for the want of kindness and
sympathy. {MH
360.1}
Though difficulties, perplexities, and discouragements may arise,
let neither husband nor wife harbor the thought that their union is a mistake
or a disappointment. Determine to be all that it is possible to be to each
other. Continue the early attentions. In every way encourage each other in
fighting the battles of life. Study to advance the happiness of each other.
Let there be mutual love, mutual forbearance. Then marriage, instead of being
the end of love, will be as it were the very beginning of love. The warmth
of true friendship, the love that binds heart to heart, is a foretaste of
the joys of heaven. (p. 361){MH
360.2}