"GOD LOVES FAMILIES!"
INTRODUCTION
- In another study we noted that God hates divorce (cf. "God Hates
Divorce!")...
- For it covers one's garment with violence - Mal 2:16a
- For it treats one's spouse with treachery - Mal 2:16b
- How does God feel about families...?
- Does He love families as strong as He hates divorce?
- What ideal family is one that He loves to see?
[We can confidently affirm that God loves families! How do we know
this...?]
- HOW WE KNOW GOD LOVES FAMILIES
- GOD CREATED THE PHYSICAL FAMILY...
- He instituted marriage between man and woman - Mt 19:4-6; Ro 7:2-3; Mt 19:9
- Designing it to be for life
- Allowing divorce only for the cause of fornication
- He thus provided the ideal arrangement for children
- In which they are to be born (from the union of two sexes
who have become one)
- In which they are to grow (benefiting from what both sexes
have to offer)
- His love for family extends to when families are broken
- He is a father of the fatherless, a defender of widows - Psa
68:5
- He relieves the fatherless and widow - Ps 146:9
- He charges that families provide for their widows - 1Ti 5:4
- He describes such care as pure and undefiled religion - Jm 1:27
- GOD CREATED A SPIRITUAL FAMILY...
- He offers Himself as a loving Father - 1Jn 3:1-2
- He provides a wonderful Elder Brother for our salvation - He 2:9-13
- He sent His Spirit so we could be born into this family - Tit 3:4-7; Ro 8:15-17
- He revealed His Word so we can be born again - Jm 1:18; 1Pe 1:22-25
- He designed the church to be an extended family with many
mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters - Mk 10:29-30; 1Ti 3:15
[Indeed, God loves families! The concept of family is important in both
the physical and spiritual realm. Focusing our attention on the
physical family, let's review...]
- THE IDEAL FAMILY THAT GOD LOVES
- WHERE HUSBANDS TREAT THEIR WIVES...
- With love and without bitterness, as Christ loved the church
- Col 3:19; Ep 5:25-29
- With understanding, honor, tenderness, and as fellow heirs
- 1Pe 3:7
- WHERE WIVES RESPOND TO THEIR HUSBANDS...
- With love and obedience - Tit 2:4-5
- With submission, as the church is to submit to Christ - Col 3:18; Ep 5:22-24
- WHERE FATHERS RAISE THEIR CHILDREN...
- Without provoking them to wrath - Col 3:21; Ep 6:4a
- In the nurture and admonition of the Lord - Ep 6:4b
- With proper discipline when needed - Pr 13:24; 19:18; 29:17;
He 12:7-10
- WHERE MOTHERS RAISE THEIR CHILDREN...
- With love - Tit 2:4
- As homemakers, managers of the home - Tit 2:4; 1Ti 5:14; cf.
Pr 31:10-31
- WHERE CHILDREN REACT TO THEIR PARENTS...
- With obedience - Col 3:20; Ep 6:1
- With honor - Ep 6:2-3; cf. Pr 31:28
- WHERE ALL ARE DEDICATED TO SERVING HIM...
- Having a genuine faith from one generation to another - cf.
2Ti 1:5
- With devotion to the Lord that surpasses even devotion to one
another - Mt 10:37
CONCLUSION
- No family is perfect, but God's ideal for the physical family is
worth striving for...
- It is the best hope for strong marriages, for healthy and happy
families, that last a lifetime
- God-ordained marriages, and certainly children, deserve the very
best we can give
- If we find ourselves in a family broken beyond repair...
- By death, divorce, or dysfunction beyond our control
- Do not forget that God has a spiritual family designed for
eternity
The best hope for strong, physical families is for everyone to become a
child of God in His spiritual family. Have you become a child of God by
being born again of water and the Spirit...? - Jn 3:3-5; Mk 16:16