The family is the nucleus of society, whose well-being, shown in the prosperity of the nation, depends upon home influences. The success of the church, also, is the product of well-established homes. Therefore, the marriage institution, which is embodied in the family, has an important place in the plan of God to restore all things before the second coming of Christ.

The marriage institution is of divine origin. Man was not to dwell in solitude. Since “it is not good that the man should be alone” (Genesis 2:18), God gave Adam a companion, “a help meet for him,” and pronounced them husband and wife. Her position is well-defined as “a helper” (literally, “a help,” ezer, abstract for concrete; further, defined as “his counter part,” keneghdo; literally, as agreeing to him). She was to be his companion, to be one with him in love and sympathy, so that they would be able to encourage and support one another at all times.

For the marriage relationship to be successful, love must exist between husband and wife. Marriage is a deep dedication and commitment to one another, for the welfare of spouses, a strong desire to share life together, and a firm determination to enter upon a lifelong loyalty to each other.

The team is composed of a husband and a wife, not merely a man and a woman. In the plan of God there is no such thing as forming a marriage team with two women or two men. That is not marriage; it’s rather a perversion of the marriage relationship. According to the word of God, the marriage relationship, when kept pure and undefiled, is a sacred institution. Marriage is not merely a social relationship, an economic agreement, or just a legal contract. It is a holy, sacred, God-given relationship. Without God, marriage lacks its fundamental ingredient.

Those who are contemplating marriage should seriously consider the influence that their prospective spouse will exert upon the home and be certain that their union will promote the glory of God.

The father should ever be a role model in godliness, love, and consideration for his little flock, and the mother is to stand by his side as an example of kindness, goodness and nobility.

In the home circle, the environment surrounding fathers and mothers fills the whole house. The children, as the purchase of Christ’s blood, are God’s property entrusted to the parents. God wants our children to be trained from their childhood to share the burdens of the home. Every Christian home should have rules; and parents should give to their children a precious, living example.

Children should feel that they are indebted to their parents, who have watched over them and cared for them at all times. “Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee” (Exodus 20:12). This is the first commandment with promise.

“Children who dishonor and disobey their parents, and disregard their advice and instructions, can have no part in the earth made new. The purified new earth will be no place for the rebellious, the disobedient, the ungrateful son or daughter.”1

“[The home] should be a little heaven upon earth, a place where the affections are cultivated instead of being studiously repressed. Our happiness depends upon this cultivation of love, sympathy, and true courtesy to one another.”2

“One well-ordered, well-disciplined family tells more in behalf of Christianity than all the sermons that can be preached.”3

Therefore, we, who are bearing the message of Elijah, will emphasize during this Week of Prayer the importance of the Christian family and the role of the solid home. May God richly bless us as we try to cover this subject in detail!