– Isa 40:8.
In
discussing the family, we must only rely on the OWNER'S MANUAL, The Word of God
- The BIBLE.
THE
FAMILY
What
is a family? A family is a union
in which the husband and wife are properly married with each living their lives
to please God individually and in the union. A family is a unit where love is experienced, demonstrated
and oneness is a watchword thus creating the relationship that exists among the
Trinity between men on earth i.e. heaven on earth.
GOD’S
PLAN FOR THE FAMILY
We
can peep into God’s plan for the family by reviewing what God said concerning
Abraham in Gen 18:19 “For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his
children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what
is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he have
promised.”
God’s
plan for the world was channeled through Abraham by his obedience and by exemplary
conduct in his leadership of his family who are supposed to follow after him in
doing what is right and just. He
was to lead by example and thus become a channel for the actualization of God’s
purpose in his generation.
The
outcome of this character and obedience is that God will then accomplish His
purpose for Abraham and through him, God’s purpose for mankind.
The
family is therefore a unit of creation put in place to enable God accomplish
His purpose on earth’
The
Church, being the body of Christ, is therefore an aggregation of family units
serving as vehicles for the accomplishment of God’s purpose.
ORIGIN
OF THE FAMILY
The
family is God’s own idea. It is
His provision for the lonely and the deserted, it is his mercy towards the man He has made for His own pleasure.
Gen
2:18 It is not good that the man should be alone: I will make him an help meet
for him.” Thus God created a perfect co-worker for the task he had given Adam.
For the accomplishment of the work God has called each of us to do, we also
need the support of others and we find them in family relationship. God
realized deficiency in Adam and promptly met it in Eve. In Eve, Adam found the “bone of his
bones and the flesh of his flesh.” He also found a partner – Part (owner).
It
is in this wise that God demands that a man who cannot take care of his family
cannot be a leader in the church. 1Tim3:5. The family is therefore the
building block of the Church.
GOD’S
PURPOSE FOR THE FAMILY (Ecl 4:9-12)
1. Reward for
labours in life and ministry. Ecl 4:9 When God desires a man to succeed in his life and also in
his labours for God, He gives him a wife.
It is a capital investment into his own limited resources in order for
him to accomplish God’s call on his life.
The family is the engine room of achieving God’s call upon our lives. It
brings the members rewards and favour from the Lord Ps 10:18-22.
2. Forestalls
a fall
Ecl4:10 “For if they fall, one
will lift up his Companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he
has no one to help him up.” A man
cannot go alone and succeed when he has been impaired by his wife. When a man’s home is scattered, it is
easy for the enemy to walk through his affairs and bring in strange affairs
e.g. Delila, Jezebel. Anointed men
of God have fallen flat on their backs or on the laps of strange girls as they
walked alone for long periods without their spouses.
3. A divine
blanket against cold Ecl 4:11. A man that is
out to serve God must necessarily dissipate spiritual and physical energy. The family is the haven he retires back
to for comfort, for healing and for replenishment. He cannot launch out for God without a stable platform to
recharge. If the platform is weak his momentum will be low. If the platform is divided there will
be no momentum at all!
4. An
unbreakable cord in spiritual warfare Ecl 4:12.
If the enemy comes and seeks to prevail against one of them the couple walking in agreement shall
withstand him and if two of them shall agree as touching anything on earth, the
Lord will be there in their midst and a threefold chord is not quickly
broken. This is a major protection
for the man of God against the darts of Satan and his agents as he travels his
pilgrim journey.
5. Co-Signatories
of the Heavenly bank 1Pet 3:7; Matt 18:19. This
is one of the greatest divine purpose for the family. Prayer is the greatest privilege a man has … access to the
throne of God. This privilege is
also accomplished with automatic response only for the family setting. Since a man can receive nothing, except
it be given to him from heaven (Jn 3:27), it follows that family setting is the
sure way for accomplishing God’s purpose for man. Whatever resources a man needs for life, ministry, promotion,
wisdom etc has been given to him from heaven in a family setting.
6. The setting
for raising godly offspring Mal 2:15 “You
were united to your wife by the Lord.
In God’s wise plan, when you married, the two of you became one person
in His sight. And what does He
want? Godly children from your
union.”
God desires
godly children for the propagation of the Great Commission. This can only be possible within the
setting of a godly family. God’s
plan for man right from Genesis through Malachi is to utilize the family to
bring about the accomplishment of His purpose for Mankind.
A
brief review of lessons from family – role-profiles in the Bible
1. Adam – Fathered Cain and Abel, Cain
killed Abel. Sin can wreck
families, fathering goes beyond producing sons and daughters. Teach them to love and obey God. Christ says I’m the bread of life Jn
6:35. Do you give bread to your
children? What type of bread are you serving? Do you have a family alter? What
is your role in the worship in your home?
2. Eli – Hoped his children will learn
from their mother or just watching him. While setting example is important, we
must consciously and explicitly teach our children. We don’t hear about the failure of Eli’s wife. Professional
success is not all. Love and
discipline must go together.
3. James and
John (Mark
10). Brothers can live in harmony.
They were in business with their father Zebede, they left to follow Jesus
together, they asked for seats in heaven together. Compare Cain and Abel,
Rachel and Leah, Jacob and Esau.
Teach kids to love each other. Disharmony delays or even thwarts our
accomplishment of God’s purpose for us.
4. Jochebed Exodus 2 – Went to extraordinary
lengths to protect her baby. She
drew courage from God. She made sacrifices. We must balance prayer and faith with action. She mothered,
Moses, Aaron and Miriam; all successful and godly children who served God in
their generation. You can lead all
your children to love and serve God.
5. Paul (Acts 9 – 25). God calls some people to stay single.
Never pressure kids into marriage.
Pray for God’s leading.
Being single has its advantages.
Paul probably struggled with loneliness but did not complain. A single man can still accomplish God’s
purpose for him.
THE
PLACE OF CHILDREN
The
Children are the adults of the future. The Elders of tomorrow are in the
Sunday
School today. If they are not
given the bread of life today in the home and
in
the Church how can they be available to play their roles tomorrow?
The
environment for nurturing and replenishing the Church is the family. The family is therefore the building
block of the Church.
CONCLUSION
The Family
is a creation of God, at His instance for His purpose and to do His
will
as an integral aspect of His body – THE CHURCH.
God
has put the family in place as sample of Heavenly relationship and to give man
his reward with favours from above.
The
family under God is a bulwark to forestall a fall and provide a divine
protection from cold. It serves as
the unit of the Church where Spiritual battles are won and lost depending on
our obedience and walk with God. May the Lord grant us the grace to arise as
MEN and lead our families on the path of righteousness doing the will of God in
the CHURCH. Jochebed did it, the
Zebedees did it, you can do IT!
Elder
Samson Opaluwah
21st
February, 2012
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