Hebrews 6:1, Let us go on to maturity.
If your Christian faith is not real at home, it’s not real anywhere. There is no such thing as spiritual maturity that does not impact the way we live in our families.
Joshua, the second leader of the Israelites, demonstrated the essence of family commitment when he said, “As for me and my family, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15).
The Family was God’s idea. Genesis 24:18, God said, ‘It is not good for man to be alone. I will make a companion who will help him. (NLT)
Genesis 2:24, This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one. (NLT)
The Family is the basic foundation of society’s stability.
As the family goes, so goes the nation…the schools…the church.
Edward Gibbons in his classic work, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, identified five key factors in Rome’s demise:
1
The mad rush for pleasure
2
The building of large armaments while neglecting the real enemy—moral decadence
3
The Increase in government taxation
4
The deterioration of religion to a mere formality
5
The rapid Increase in divorce undermining of the home.
God uses the family to help us understand divine-human relationships.
The family is to be a shelter in storms. Proverbs 14:26, Reverence for the Lord gives a man deep strength; his children have a place of refuge and security. (LB) Your home should be a place where everyone can be heard, hugged, and helped. The family is to be a learning center for life.
Psalm 144:12, May your sons in their youth be like plants that grow up strong. (GN) Ephesians 6:4, Fathers, don’t exasperate your children; instead bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. (NIV) Three key things we learn at home:
1. Relationships
2. Values
3. Character The family is to be a place to have fun
Ecclesiastes 9:9, Live happily with your wife, whom you love through all the meaningless days of life. (NLT)
Proverbs 5:18, Be happy with your wife and find your joy with the girl you married. (GN)
Psalm 127:3-5, Children are God’s best gifts…Oh how blessed you parents are. (Message) The family is to be a place to launch a ministry.
1 Corinthians 16:15, Stephanas and his family…were the first to become Christians in Greece, and they are spending their lives helping and serving Christians everywhere. (LB)
Romans 12:13, When God’s children are in need…help them out! Get into the habit of inviting guests for dinner, or if they need lodging for the night. (LB)