he idea of the family is such a wonderful thing. In it we experience love for the first time. We learn how to do life. The family is the building block of the local church. It’s a direct gift from God in fact. But even though the family is a gift from God, families can be messy! Sometimes it seems like we have the most wonderful family in the world; the next moment it may seem like a picture of our family should be located in the dictionary beside the word “dysfunctional”. Stress from jobs and bills and deadlines feel like a ton of bricks on parents’ shoulders. Husbands and wives tend to forget they vowed to “cherish” one another and instead think that they vowed to “put up” with one another. Kids don’t listen. Fights ensue. Doors are slammed. Hearts can be broken. Families can be messy.
It’s sad. It’s especially sad when Christian families become like this. We are the people of God who have experienced the rebirth and are to be filled with the Holy Spirit so that we can produce the fruit of the Spirit and pour out praise to Jesus Christ in everything we do. The family is meant to be a blessing from God in which the fellow members love and support each other as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit love one another. God never intended the family to be a group of people who happen to live in the same house with each other but who can’t stand each other. As the church of Jesus Christ, we must fight to produce families that love God to the core, families that seek the Lord together, families that strive for holiness together, and families that have a passion to spread the kingdom of God together.
Parents, I want you to know that if you feel like your family has become a mess and is getting worse, you’re notalone. Many families are experiencing this. But you can do something about it. Let us learn together what we can do about it. I believe God has a vision for our families to be a place where Jesus Christ is cherished, parents are filled with joy because they are maturing in Christ, and children are discipled in the joy and love of Christ by their parents. God has laid out this vision in his word. Let’s find out that vision together and seek to be families who marked by a passion for Jesus Christ.
