In order that one may rightly command he must himself be controlled or
be able to obey an authority higher than his own. It is absolutely
impossible for one to be the father he ought to be and not be a
Christian, or to be worthy of the name of mother and not yield
allegiance to Jesus Christ. If we are to set before those about us a
right example, we cannot begin too soon. Your children are a
reproduction of yourself, weakness in them is weakness in yourself,
strength in them is but the reproduction of your own virtue.

A convention of mothers met some years ago in the city of Cincinnati
and was discussing the question as to when one ought properly to begin
to train the child for Christ. One mother said, "I begin at six";
another suggested seven as the proper age; another said, "I begin when
my child takes his first step, and thus point him to Christ, or when he
speaks his first word I teach him the name of Jesus." Finally an old
saint arose and said, "You are all of you wrong; the time to begin to
train the child is the generation before the child is born," and this
we all know to be true.

But the responsibility does not rest simply upon mothers; fathers
cannot ignore their God-given position. Judge Alton B. Parker and his
favorite grandson, Alton Parker Hall, five years old, narrowly escaped
death by drowning in the Hudson River. For half an hour the two played
in the water. Then Judge Parker took the boy for a swim into deep
water. Placing the boy on his back, he swam around for awhile, and
then, deciding to float, turned over, seating the boy astride his
chest. In this manner the judge floated a distance from the wharf
before noticing it. Then he attempted to turn over again, intending to
swim nearer the shore. In the effort to transfer the boy to his back
the little fellow became frightened and tightly clasped the judge about
the neck. Judge Parker called to the boy to let go his hold, but the
youth only held on the tighter, and, frightened at the evident distress
of the judge, began to whimper. In a few moments the grasp of the boy
became so tight that Judge Parker could not breathe. He tried to shake
the boy loose, and then attempted to break his grasp. The boy held on
with the desperation of death, however, and every effort of the judge
only plunged them both beneath the choking waves. With his last few
remaining breaths, Judge Parker gave up the struggle and shouted for
assistance. The mis