via TJC
“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.” – Exodus 20:12
“Bear with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgive each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.” – Colossians 3:13
We come today to dig deeper into where we can find God’s Kingdom in our families. Unfortunately today it is too common that one's own family might not be a place of refuge or comfort but a chaotic battleground of ideas and emotions that seems at odds with the Kingdom. So what can we learn from Christ about bringing peace to the chaos? First, Christ calls us to honor those who he placed above us even when they stumble and also to nurture those under our care with love and compassion. Second, his entire life was one of service to those in need and what better place to practice service than with those closest to us? Lastly, as in Colossians 3:13 above, we are to forgive those around us so we can stop any cycle of grudges or discontent that we have control over giving everything else to God in prayer. At the end of the day, no family will ever be without strife or discord because we are all human with our own opinions and thoughts, but we can work to bring the peace of the Kingdom into our families by living our lives united to Christ.
Daily Battle Order:
The Kingdom started small with only a few acts of faith and a few believers. We must also start with small gestures of love for those around us so they can begin to see Christ at work and the Kingdom in our home will grow.
Think over your most recent interactions with your family and ask God to show you where your decisions or actions caused more discord in your family than peace. Then ask God for the strength and wisdom to respond in a way that builds up your family in all future interactions.
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