BLESSINGS OF FAMILY

During the holidays, we usually get together with family and loved ones. Whether our families are large, small, dysfunctional, disagreeable, or loving, supportive and nurturing, or a combination of these and other attributes, these are the relationships that teach us the most about ourselves. They know us better than anyone else.Sometimes family members can be brutally honest; but, we can learn and grow from that if we choose to.

I think we show our true colors within the family when we “let our hair down.” This is why God says that a shepherd of the church “must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?)” (1 Timothy 3:4 – 5, NIV 1984). Who we really are inside, and what our character is made of, is seen within the family walls. If you want to judge or evaluate how Christlike you are, ask your family! Or, if you can be honest with yourself, look at how you treat them and how you behave at home.

If we really have the Spirit of Christ within us, and if we are trying to follow that Spirit, it will be evident in how we act at home. Are we “quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry” (James 1:19)? Wives, do you have a “gentle and quiet spirit” (1 Peter 3:4) and do you show your husband respect (Ephesians 5:33)? Husbands, do you love your wives sacrificially (Ephesians 5:25 – 30) and are you considerate (1 Peter 3:7) and not harsh with them or your children (Colossians 3:19, 21)? Are we kind, gentle, patient, and compassionate toward all (especially to our family), and do we forgive others as we want God to forgive us (Colossians 3:12, 13)?

— Cynthia Clayton

Picture credits:
©Patty Gibson