I have been focusing the past few days on the elusive "peace of Christ" promised at Christmas time. Yesterday I concluded by saying that the key to finding peace in our families is to have two priorities that are greater than the family: God's word and Christ's call.
Now let me start by saying that I’m not trying to be simplistic here. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t take advantage of other resources, counseling, or support. And I know that this is complicated when not everyone shares our faith, but if we prioritize God’s word and Christ’s call we can begin to bring peace into our lives and our family.
1. Prioritizing God’s Word
In Malachi 4:6, we read, “Remember the teaching of my servant Moses, the statutes and ordinances that I commanded…”
Now the teaching of Moses, the statutes and ordinances, is the Word of God given to Moses for the people of God. In Deuteronomy 6 God tells his people that if they want their “days to be long,” if they want their lives to “go well,” if they want to “multiply greatly” and be blessed “in a land flowing with milk and honey,” then they need to “keep his decrees and commandments.”
God’s intention for his people is that they would live together as a large, multi-generational, extended family of families with blessed and peaceful lives. When the Old Testament closes, the people of God have forgotten those commands, they are in exile and their families are scattered. Malachi reminds them of what they need to do, to prepare for the one who will come and bring peace to each person and within their families: They need to remember and heed God’s word.
What was true for them is true for us. We open ourselves to God’s peace in our families by making God’s word a priority in our families.
Not sure if you believe me? Then just ask yourself: How much of the tension that goes on in your family is due to someone who broke a promise, picked a fight, acted disrespectfully, had an affair, or is treating someone else in the family in a manner that angers the others? How much of the lack of peace has been brought on because of old grudges or because of action, attitudes or values that harmed you or someone else?
Just consider this: If the whole family agreed to, modeled together and taught the next generation
• biblical sexual ethics;
• biblical instruction in tithing, stewardship and generosity and the handling of money;
• the biblical commands to keep promises and honor vows,
• biblical attitudes toward enjoying the good things of life without covetousness, greed and addiction;
• the biblical admonition to honor and respect the older generation
• as well as the biblical insistence on forgiving those who don’t,
wouldn’t our families be more open to the peace of God?
I know that some of the lack of peace present at a family gathering is because Uncle Ed talks too much and Aunt Marge butts her nose into where it doesn’t belong, but more often than not absence of peace is deeply connected to violating biblical teaching, (whether we agree with it, know it or not) and the cancer that creeps into relationships through sin.
It doesn’t have to be this way, dear friends. Beth and I have been blessed by the example of so many in our church as we have learned from them how to make the word of God a priority in our families. Recently, I was inspired by one of my friends who flew half way across the country to spend two days holding his aging mother’s hand. She didn’t even recognize him, her once active mind now slipping away. When a friend asked why he does it, he replied without fanfare: “I do it for me, I have to honor my mother.”
When we start living out the word, we offer a type of family relationship where children’s hearts are turned to the parents, and parents’ hearts are turned to the children and all who see it get a glimpse of the peace of God that is available to us. If we want to be open to the peace of God for our families then we must genuinely know, prioritize and follow the word of God in our families.
But when we seek to live out God’s word in our families, we also become keenly aware that with our own strength, we can not fulfill it. We become aware that we need more than just laws and statutes in front of our eyes; we need God’s own Spirit in our hearts.
Tomorrow, Christ's call.
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