The first thing of importance is the good seed. No farmer is willing to sow bad seed in any soil. He knows that the character of the seed indicates the character of the harvest. He chooses his seed with care. This is his first work. Then he sows and plants it in time. He does not neglect the sowing till the seeding time is past, till the soil is dry and hard, or till it is foul with weeds and grass. Sowing in time--before bad seed is rooted--before the soil is burnt with summer sun, is as important as good seed. Then he sows seed enough. He is not parsimonious of his good seed. He casts it freely into the earth--buries it out of his sight in abundance, and does it in faith--in a glorious faith that it is not lost. "Not lost, but gone before," is the farmer's sowing song of faith. He has faith in the seed, that the seedlings of a future harvest are in it. He has faith in the soil, that it will warm and moisten and nourish the seed. He has faith in God's order of nature, the seasons, His laws of reproduction and growth, His sun and the showers, night and day will all be supplied to reward his confidence and toil.

So he must sow good seed in the soil of his children's minds if he would have a good harvest in their character and lives. And he must sow in time, before bad seed takes root, before thistles and weeds and briars grow, before passions run riot and bad tempers and selfishness and false opinions get hold of them. And he must put in his good seed abundantly, enough of it. A little will not do. Much is needed,--"line upon line" of good parental counsel, book upon book of good Godly reading, lecture upon lecture of Christian talk, sermon upon sermon of balanced, doctrinally sound preaching. Parsimony here is ruinous. And just here is where many fail. They think one "good" book will do; an occasional sermon will do; a lesson and some parental counsel once in a while will suffice; a little seed dropped in now and then will be enough. No, no; much good seed is necessary. Every single day is sowing time for the seed of moral and religious truth. Every day is sowing time for the seed of Godly counsel and righteous principles. Every hour affords opportunity to add something to the stock of good influences that are operating in young minds, to give them greater fruitfulness in the higher and better things of a Christian life. It is the poorest economy to withhold the abundance of good seed needful to keep the young mind fully employed in putting it to its right use. Be careful of the books you buy or borrow; study them well before you put them into your children's hands. Parents must also be very careful of the associations which influence their children.

DO NOT NEGLECT TO PLANT

No farmer is so foolish as to expect to reap where he has not sown. Every one knows that fallow ground does not produce grain. No more will a fallow mind. Children in whose character no Godly seed has been sown will not bring forth a good harvest in life. Just here is where many, oh how many, parents have failed. They have put so little good seed into the minds of their children. They have fed their bodies and starved their souls. They have clothed them with material garments and let them forage for what the wicked world will give them to clothe their mind and character. Cruel, awful mistake! The great use of the home is to protect, feed, and clothe the minds of its members. It is the home of mind, heart, soul and spirit. Its office is to develop taste, beauty, skill, intelligence, moral worth, love and most importantly introduce children to salvation and a personal relationship with Jesus Christ! It has chiefly to do with that inward part of us which thinks, feels, suffers, enjoys, which obeys, and disobeys, which learns, loves, hopes, fears, and which is kindred with Him who made us all and calls us to be like Him in character, heart, mind, and spirit. Too many forget this foundation of home, and so the home and the world suffer.

All this which has been said in relation to the home as a civilizer, shows that the homes of men are the true test of civilization. You never know a man truly till you know him in his home. Here he is himself. In the world he may live to be "seen of men." In his home he lives himself out into his life. He uncovers himself here and is known as he is. Hence, in his home he may be met, influenced, helped better than elsewhere. If bad, he may be corrected; if good, led on to yet higher good, better than under other surroundings.