Gtcotr/ws052318
God ordained the family before He ordained the Church.
Genesis 1 NKJV
26 ¶ Then God said, “Let Us
make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over
the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all
the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
27 So God created man in His own
image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
28 Then God blessed them, and
God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have
dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every
living thing that moves on the earth.”
Family
is a God-ordained relationship.
When
God could have been anything He wanted and portrayed Himself as the sun, the
moon, fire, thunder and lightning, a voice from heaven, Jupiter or anything
else you can imagine … God choose to be our Father … the Head of His family.
The
only thing God ever wanted to be is a Father. And, God wants to be is a Father to you.
And,
when it is all said and done on planet earth, the only thing God will have left
for all His hard work and the thousands of years of dealing with humans, the
troubles we face and the complaints we make … the only thing He will have left
to show for all He has done is Family … His Family.
The only
thing God is working for is family.
Since
family is absolutely the most important thing God wants and since He gave His
only Son on the cross of Calvary in hopes of gaining only one thing, family …
family must be pretty important to Him and therefore family should be the
number one priority in our lives as well.
God
is spending everything He has on building His family. Perhaps it wouldn’t hurt
us to spend a little of our time and attention towards building better
families.
Ephesians 1
14 ¶ For this reason I bow my
knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
15 from whom the whole family
in heaven and earth is named,
16 that He would grant you,
according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His
Spirit in the inner man,
17 that Christ may dwell in
your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love,
18 may be able to comprehend
with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and
height —
19 to know the love of Christ
which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
The
Apostle Paul recognized that we are Born-Again into a family and that we should
imitate God as His dear children. (Ephesians 5:21) The Psalmist agreed when he
said, “God sets the solitary in families.” (Psalms 68:6)
God
is working hard to be a Father and build His family. He has high hopes. God
does not need to get better at being family, we do. God is loving and merciful
and kind to us. He is willing to pay for whatever is needed to take care of you
as His child. God is attentive and approachable. He will never leave us or
forsake us. God is the ultimate champion of family relationships and He knows
how to play the long game. Let’s take a close look at these:
Seven
Truths to Building Better Families
1. Family is the Best Thing God Ever Ordained
o God ordained the
family before He ordained the Church
o It will be the only
lasting results of God’s efforts on earth.
2. Family is a Decision
o To fit within the
family structure
§ Be involved
o To support the
family ideals
§ Love
§ Forgive
§ Champion the family
3. Family Takes Work
o Show up
o Participate
§ Time
§ Attention
§ Activity
4. Family is Designed and Intended to Last Forever
o Family is the only
security we have
§ When we are born
§ When we die
5. Family Relationships Will be Tested
o Rights
o Rules
o Roles
o Responsibilities
6. Family Can be Broken
o The devil cannot
divide a family unless he can get at least one person to work with him.
o There must be order
in the house for a house divided cannot stand.
7. Family Can be Fixed
·
Get
closer to change …
o Right
o Reason
o Responsibility
God
ordained the family … participate and help Him succeed.
1.
What
is your position and therefore your part in your family?
2.
Take
the initiative and be responsible to do your part.
3.
Pray
for your family.
