Isaac was the heir of the promises through which the world was to be blessed; yet when he was forty years old he let his father choose a wife for him. And the result of that marriage is a tender and beautiful picture of happiness at home: “Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent; and he took Rebekah and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.”
Young people too often feel that selecting a life partner is something about which they should only consult themselves. They think they are fully qualified to make their own choice, without the aid of their parents. A few years of married life usually show them their error, but too late. The same lack of wisdom and self-control that dictated the hasty choice makes matters worse, until marriage becomes a bitter burden. This is the way that many wreck their happiness in this life and their hope of the life to come.
If ever the Bible was needed as a counselor, if ever divine guidance should be sought in prayer, it is before taking a step that binds persons together for life.
Parents should never lose sight of their responsibility for the future happiness of their children. While Abraham required his children to respect parental authority, his daily life testified that this authority was not selfish or arbitrary, but was rooted in love and had their well-being and happiness in view.
Fathers and mothers should guide the affections of youth so that they may place those affections on suitable companions. Mold the character of the children from their earliest years so that they will be pure and noble, attracted to the good and true. If love for truth, purity, and goodness is implanted in the soul early, the youth will seek to be around others who possess these characteristics.
Parents, try to be like our heavenly Father, who is love. Let your home be full of sunshine—this will be worth more to your children than lands or money. Let your home love be kept alive in their hearts so that they may look back on the home of their childhood as a place of peace and happiness next to heaven.
True love is a high and holy principle, entirely different from that love which flashes up quickly but suddenly dies when severely tested. In their parents’ home youth are to prepare themselves for homes of their own. Here they should practice self-denial, kindness, courtesy, and Christian sympathy.
The young man who goes out from such a household to stand at the head of a family will know how to promote the happiness of her whom he has chosen as a companion for life. Marriage, instead of being the end of love, will only be its beginning.
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