Recipe for a Godly Home (2)

(Continued last week...)

Ingredient No.4: Children Are to Obey Their Parents

Colossians 3:20 tells us about this ingredient: "Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord." This command is so important that God made it the fifth commandment (Exodus 20:12). Its importance can be seen in the obedience of Jesus to His earthly parents, Mary and Joseph, when He was a child (Luke 2:51).

In the Old Testament we have the example of Isaac: "And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together. And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood" (Genesis 22:8-9) Isaac's obedience in this instance enabled his father to obey God's instructions. Although he was already old enough to refuse to be bound and placed on the altar to be sacrificed, he chose to honour his father with his obedience. Perhaps he also shared his father's faith that God would provide a sacrifice. God did provide a substitute to be sacrificed in his place (Genesis 22;13). He also blessed Isaac as he grew up to inherit all the precious promises that God had made to his father.

Children who obey their parents like this will also be blessed in another way. They will grow up to understand obedience to authority, and obedience to God. They will probably not become rebellious, trouble-making misfits, but good law-abiding citizens. This helps them to live a life of tranquility that would tend to prolong their life. This is one reason why the fifth commandment is accompanied with the promise of long life (Ephesians 6:2, 3).

Ingredient No.5: Parents Are to Love and Nurture their Children

Our final ingredient is given in Colossians 3:21 – "Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged." The same command as found in Ephesians 6:4 has the additional words, "…but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." Although only fathers are addressed here, it is understood that mothers are also involved in the care and upbringing of the children. In fact mothers are usually the ones who provide most of the care and nurture that their children need.

Many fathers are so busy with their work and so exhausted when they come home that they hardly spend quality time with their children. When the children come to them for help or just for companionship they scold them for bothering them. When the children make a little too much noise they scold them for disturbing their rest. Such treatment will only discourage their children from getting close to their fathers, and worse still, it may provoke them to anger – anger that their father does not love them or care for them.

Fathers, God wants you to take your parenting role seriously. You should regard your children as God's precious gifts that are entrusted to your care. Psalm 127:3, 4 – "Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is His reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth." Do your best to love them and nurture them well to build them up for God.

One good example in the Bible of a good father is Abraham. God knew that he would "command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment." (Genesis 18:19) Thus He gave him a son named Isaac. Abraham loved Isaac and provided for his needs – even to the extent of finding a suitable wife for him! He taught Isaac all that he knew about God and His covenant with them. That was how Isaac knew enough to continue in the same covenant relationship with God that Abraham had enjoyed. What would have happened if Abraham had been too busy to spend time with his son? The line of redemption would probably have come to an untimely end!

Another child in the Bible who was also a precious gift from God was Samuel, the son of Hannah. While Abraham serves as a pattern for fathers in this aspect, Hannah serves as a pattern for all mothers. Like Abraham, Hannah initially had no children. But after her fervent praying, the Lord graciously gave her a son named Samuel. Like Abraham, Hannah was willing to give her son to the Lord. In fact she gave him the best care a mother of her times could give to her son until he was old enough to serve the Lord at the Tabernacle.

Mothers, your children are precious lives that have been entrusted to your care for a time. They are given for you to build, to mould, and to train well (Proverbs 22:6). Build a strong bond of trust with each child you have, and carefully teach them to love the Lord. Ask God to make you like Eunice and Lois – the mother and grandmother of Timothy (2 Timothy 1:5) – who taught Timothy well and raised him up to become a man whom God could use (2 Timothy 3:14, 15).

Perhaps you may say, "It is not easy for me to do this. You don't know what my spouse and children are like." The first person who needs to change is yourself. As you change your attitude and conduct at home and earnestly ask God to work in your family, they will gradually change as well. Share what you have learned from this article with them and encourage them to follow the Bible's recipe for a godly home. And do not give up hope when you face difficulties, but trust in the Lord to help you to overcome them.

Adapted from Life BPC 13 May 2007.
Written by Rev. Charles Seet.