CHRISTIAN FAMILIES: THE FOUNDATION FOR A CHRISTIAN CHURCH
What is a home? The home is a little society, a community formed by people living together. The way we run our home will determine whether there will be peace, love, and fidelity or not. Families that are established on the precepts of the Bible act as a strong foundation for the church.
Many homes just exist as a lodging place rather than a place to live. There is no time for fellowship, family altar or Christian instruction. No learning opportunity for family members, no growth in grace, no prevailing prayers and faith. In each home, we need spiritual reformation. The home will be in a chaotic and restless condition if the parents and kids are pulling and going in different directions. God is God of unity and He wants unity of purpose, firmness offaith, confidence and courage. God our heavenly Father wants all the members of the family to stand shoulder to shoulder in the fear of the Lord.
God’s purpose in the beginning was to have the family established in love, harmony and security. Although it is not always smooth going, we can always be victorious and avoid many heartaches by doing things God’s way. Love is the power that keeps the family chariot in the divinely appointed path. Love helps the flame of peace and joy to leap higher in the family.
Let us consider three areas of aspects of love: -
a) The Tender Love Of The WifeMany times there are preachers who say love is only commanded of the husband as stated in Eph 5:25, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her.” Yes, that is right but they do not realize that love is also demanded of the wives. A tender feminine kind of love that befits a Christian woman should be manifested in the family. (Titus 2:4-5) states: “That they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to lovetheir children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed.”
The Bible says that the teacher i.e. the aged woman should teach the younger women to be sober and to love their husbands. Aged women, by virtue of their spiritual life, by virtue of their walk and experience with God and standing with God should teach the younger women who are just getting married what they have known, what they have discovered, learnt from life’s lesson and gone through.
In Eph 5:22, “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.” The Christian woman already knows what it means to submit and the Christian man equally knows what it means to love. At the point of salvation both have learnt to surrender to the Lord. There are many men but you have this man in particular to submit to, and there are many women but you have this particular woman to love. Therefore, love and submission demands mutual respect.
We love and submit to Christ Jesus because we know that He is God’s Son. We know His titles, His qualities and characteristics. We know that all judgement is in His hands and we know that He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. So because of the respect and the honour we have for Him, we must submit to Him. While we were unbelievers we did not submit to Him because of ignorance, we did not know Him as such.
The moment you realize that you ought to honour and respect your spouse, you ought to stop looking out for his / her fault. If you are engrossed in looking at his / her faults or exaggerating his / her faults and failings, you will be making reconciliation and restoration difficult. Please take away your eyes from the negatives and begin to look at the positive contribution that your spouse has made thus far to the family. Wives hear this: the authority of your husband over you must be greater than the authority of all other men. Husbands hear this: your love and protection upon your wife must be greater than the love and protection upon anyone else, your mother included.
Beloved Christian couple, live exemplary lives and let Jesus Christ be the centre pillar of your home in Jesus’ name, Amen!
To be continued…
Many homes just exist as a lodging place rather than a place to live. There is no time for fellowship, family altar or Christian instruction. No learning opportunity for family members, no growth in grace, no prevailing prayers and faith. In each home, we need spiritual reformation. The home will be in a chaotic and restless condition if the parents and kids are pulling and going in different directions. God is God of unity and He wants unity of purpose, firmness offaith, confidence and courage. God our heavenly Father wants all the members of the family to stand shoulder to shoulder in the fear of the Lord.
God’s purpose in the beginning was to have the family established in love, harmony and security. Although it is not always smooth going, we can always be victorious and avoid many heartaches by doing things God’s way. Love is the power that keeps the family chariot in the divinely appointed path. Love helps the flame of peace and joy to leap higher in the family.
Let us consider three areas of aspects of love: -
a) The Tender Love Of The WifeMany times there are preachers who say love is only commanded of the husband as stated in Eph 5:25, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her.” Yes, that is right but they do not realize that love is also demanded of the wives. A tender feminine kind of love that befits a Christian woman should be manifested in the family. (Titus 2:4-5) states: “That they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to lovetheir children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed.”
The Bible says that the teacher i.e. the aged woman should teach the younger women to be sober and to love their husbands. Aged women, by virtue of their spiritual life, by virtue of their walk and experience with God and standing with God should teach the younger women who are just getting married what they have known, what they have discovered, learnt from life’s lesson and gone through.
In Eph 5:22, “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.” The Christian woman already knows what it means to submit and the Christian man equally knows what it means to love. At the point of salvation both have learnt to surrender to the Lord. There are many men but you have this man in particular to submit to, and there are many women but you have this particular woman to love. Therefore, love and submission demands mutual respect.
We love and submit to Christ Jesus because we know that He is God’s Son. We know His titles, His qualities and characteristics. We know that all judgement is in His hands and we know that He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. So because of the respect and the honour we have for Him, we must submit to Him. While we were unbelievers we did not submit to Him because of ignorance, we did not know Him as such.
The moment you realize that you ought to honour and respect your spouse, you ought to stop looking out for his / her fault. If you are engrossed in looking at his / her faults or exaggerating his / her faults and failings, you will be making reconciliation and restoration difficult. Please take away your eyes from the negatives and begin to look at the positive contribution that your spouse has made thus far to the family. Wives hear this: the authority of your husband over you must be greater than the authority of all other men. Husbands hear this: your love and protection upon your wife must be greater than the love and protection upon anyone else, your mother included.
Beloved Christian couple, live exemplary lives and let Jesus Christ be the centre pillar of your home in Jesus’ name, Amen!
To be continued…
posted by Floyd at 10:00 AM
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