Children Have A Responsibility To

 

Children Have A Responsibility To

Ephesians 6:1 “Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.2 Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise;3 That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.”

     Is God in the killing business?  Not necessarily.  Surely His grace reigns upon the ignorant as He decides to deflect His wrath in His mercies.  Punishment is not His first go to.  But, as with His character, He cannot betray Himself.

     I take it that you are not a child.  If you access this blog, I would guess you are an adult.  So what does this verse mean to us today?  I mean:

Genesis 2:24 “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.”

     We are supposed to leave and create our own family unit.  Such independency!  Free at last!  Not quite.  The strings are still there.

     If you hold the family name as with an American man, you perpetuate the legacy.  Either good or bad, you bear the mark.  Now you decide whether to break the cycle of torment, say of alcoholism, or you decide to stay in the groove.  Whatever the choice, you pass old or new behaviors on to your trusting children.

     Not one of us has had perfect childhoods where Dad was always fair, and Mom was always nurturing.  Harsh reality is that in addition to Jesus being in the family mix, flesh was there also. So where do these verses come in?

Titus 3 "Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work,2 To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men.3 For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another."

    Here God talks of subjection to rulers, but authority starts in the home.  Even if we move away, we are not to speak evil of our parents.  If there is nothing good to say, don’t say it!  God holds a blessing for those who obey this commandment. “That it may be well with thee…”

     Peace is something the whole extended family can enjoy.  He knows discrepancies, yet He calls us to rise above the mud and show thankfulness.  Please forgive, be creative, and paint a real but fortunate picture your children can be proud of.

  

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