God has something much better in store for our lives than anything this world can provide, and we have to live God’s reality to escape the unreality of this world. Over the next few weeks, we’re going to look at God’s reality in various parts of our lives and what we can do to live up to that standard, and the first area we are going to examine is our family lives. How should we approach our families to keep in line with the reality of God’s word?
God’s Reality for the Family
The family was formed by God even before the entrance of sin into our world. The family was formed during the Creation, and God desires that we keep the covenant we make with our families as in Malachi 2:10. God keeps His promises to us, and He expects us to keep those implicit and spoken promises we make to our earthly families. What, then, are these promises we make or imply as parent to child, as child to parent, as spouse to spouse?
Genesis 2:24 describes a husband and wife as one united individual, the words are “one flesh.” The husband and wife are inseparable parts of each other, living in unity and accord. Malachi 2:15 illustrates they are one to raise up godly offspring, and Ephesians 5:22-33 draws a parallel between Christ’s relationship with the church and a husband’s relationship with his wife – in love, in sacrifice, in concern, in unity. This is what God wants for us, to raise godly families, to live in love, mutual respect, and kindness.
Avoiding Fracturing the Reality
Matthew 5:27 records Jesus warning against giving ourselves over to lust, going to any lengths to avoid letting that consume our lives, and he goes on to say we should never forsake our spouses for these images. We should never tear apart that unity unless unfaithfulness is involved. We should be actively fleeing from those temptations and those attitudes that can deteriorate our families.
We should avoid allowing a temptation to turn into something more. James 1:13-16 warns us against succumbing to the bait Satan dangles in front of us. He has no desire for us to have healthy marriages or to be one with our spouses. When we know we are being tempted, we have the choice to turn away, to not look, to not pursue, to not covet. Realize that these temptations are from the one trying to destroy us.
In our marriages, we cannot be selfish in possessions or intimacy. We should be open to each other. We should communicate with our families about our struggles as well as our strengths. We are not invincible, and we should avoid spending time with those we find attractive, perhaps even avoid rekindling past relationships. We need to know when we are most vulnerable to succumb to temptation and to avoid settings, websites, videos, and other materials that will play upon those vulnerabilities.
The Gift of Family
We cannot let the temptations of this world tear down what we have built as families. Instead, we should never take our wives and husbands for granted. We should be living by the attitudes and the conduct we find in God’s word, and we should be treasuring this gift of family God has given us. This beautiful relationship of family is His reality for us because that is the model for His relationship with us. It is a relationship of nurturing, of unconditional love, and of promises kept.
By caring for our family and preserving it as we should, we make ourselves more like God. We are a special people who God treasures and protects. We should have the same attitude toward our families.
lesson by Ben Lanius
God’s Reality for the Family
The family was formed by God even before the entrance of sin into our world. The family was formed during the Creation, and God desires that we keep the covenant we make with our families as in Malachi 2:10. God keeps His promises to us, and He expects us to keep those implicit and spoken promises we make to our earthly families. What, then, are these promises we make or imply as parent to child, as child to parent, as spouse to spouse?
Genesis 2:24 describes a husband and wife as one united individual, the words are “one flesh.” The husband and wife are inseparable parts of each other, living in unity and accord. Malachi 2:15 illustrates they are one to raise up godly offspring, and Ephesians 5:22-33 draws a parallel between Christ’s relationship with the church and a husband’s relationship with his wife – in love, in sacrifice, in concern, in unity. This is what God wants for us, to raise godly families, to live in love, mutual respect, and kindness.
Avoiding Fracturing the Reality
Matthew 5:27 records Jesus warning against giving ourselves over to lust, going to any lengths to avoid letting that consume our lives, and he goes on to say we should never forsake our spouses for these images. We should never tear apart that unity unless unfaithfulness is involved. We should be actively fleeing from those temptations and those attitudes that can deteriorate our families.
We should avoid allowing a temptation to turn into something more. James 1:13-16 warns us against succumbing to the bait Satan dangles in front of us. He has no desire for us to have healthy marriages or to be one with our spouses. When we know we are being tempted, we have the choice to turn away, to not look, to not pursue, to not covet. Realize that these temptations are from the one trying to destroy us.
In our marriages, we cannot be selfish in possessions or intimacy. We should be open to each other. We should communicate with our families about our struggles as well as our strengths. We are not invincible, and we should avoid spending time with those we find attractive, perhaps even avoid rekindling past relationships. We need to know when we are most vulnerable to succumb to temptation and to avoid settings, websites, videos, and other materials that will play upon those vulnerabilities.
The Gift of Family
We cannot let the temptations of this world tear down what we have built as families. Instead, we should never take our wives and husbands for granted. We should be living by the attitudes and the conduct we find in God’s word, and we should be treasuring this gift of family God has given us. This beautiful relationship of family is His reality for us because that is the model for His relationship with us. It is a relationship of nurturing, of unconditional love, and of promises kept.
By caring for our family and preserving it as we should, we make ourselves more like God. We are a special people who God treasures and protects. We should have the same attitude toward our families.
lesson by Ben Lanius
