t, body and soul, talents and means
of grace. He has entrusted to the parents the training of their children
both for time and for eternity. These children are the heritage of the
Lord; they are not at the absolute disposal of their parents; but merely
entrusted to their care to be educated and dealt with according to the will
of God.

There is one great peculiarity in this stewardship of the Christian
family,--the absolute identity of interest between the Master and the
steward. The interest of the former is that also of the latter; and the
latter, in promoting the interest of his Lord, is but advancing his own
welfare. Such is the economy of the gospel, and it is this which makes the
servitude of the Christian so delightful. Faithfulness to God is
faithfulness to our own souls. Parents who are thus faithful to God must be
faithful to themselves and to their children. Thus, then, the interest of
God in our families is the welfare of all the members. When we act towards
our children as God directs, we are but promoting their greatest welfare.
This is one prominent feature of God's mercy towards us in all His dealings
with us. He identifies His interest with the interest of His people. This
is a powerful incentive to parental integrity, and is beautifully
exemplified in the mother of Moses. When the daughter of Pharaoh said to
her, "Take this child and nurse it for me, and I will pay thee thy wages,"
was not the interest of the queen and the nurse the same? In nursing him
for the queen, that devoted mother nursed him also for herself; and in
doing this, she was also promoting the welfare of her son, and executing
the will of God concerning him. This illustrates the principle of
stewardship in the Christian home. Of every child, God says to its
parent,--

"Go nurse it for the King of heaven,
And He will pay thee hire."

Here is the important trust; here, too, is the duty of the steward. It is
a trust from God, and the nursing is for God. The child is a tender plant,
an invaluable treasure, more priceless than gold, or pearls, or diamonds.
Your duty as a steward, is to nurse it, to cultivate it, to polish the
lovely gem, to take care of it. And in doing this for God, are you not also
doing it for the child,--yea, if you are Christian parents,--for
yourselves? Will not even natural affection, as well as the discerning eye
of faith, like that of the mother of Moses, detect in this stewardship an
identity between the i