I haven’t done any kind of survey, but just
from experience, I would bet that of all the areas of our lives that demand a
block of our time, if we were to decide which was the most important, it would
come down to family. I have never heard
anyone say they wish they could spend less time with their family! I believe that all of the problems in our
world today are the effect of a break-down in the family ( “cause and effect” )
and it began in the Garden of Eden. I do not claim to have all the answers for
what is ailing families today, but I can say with certainty that I can point
you in the direction of the one who does!
The family is not a product of human
ingenuity, it is an institution and a creation of God. As such, it holds a
place of importance in life second only to our personal relationship with Him.
If I wanted to depress you, I could run through a series of demoralizing
statistics on the state of families in our country. But, that is not my
intention. I want to focus on the fact that if we keep our priorities in order,
and focus our time and attention on what is most important, it is possible to
have a happy, healthy, abundant family life. Notice that I did not say we would
have a “perfect” family life. That may be what we dream of, but we must live in
the real world. It is possible however, to do the things we have always
“intended” to do with our families…if we develop a “family time budget.” The amount of time is not as important as the quality. I and my wife once decided that one of the intentional family times on our calendar was going to be a special time each month with each one of our children and their families. They set the date, they choose what they would like to do, and we mark it on the calendar. It’s a date! And nothing would come before that date. It is hard to do now with the distance barrier, but we could change it to once a year or whatever would work
Well, let’s look at God’s suggestions for the family;
#1. The home is to be a place of unconditional love and acceptance.
#2. The home is to be a place of total surrender to the word and will of God.
#3. The home is to be a place of preparation where all of us learn to be godly, responsible and productive.
#4. The home is the center or the core of our life, and all other aspects of life radiate out from the home.
The family should never be a source of stress in our lives! If we make the time and take the time…it can and will become less and less stressful. That is a lot to say concerning the purposes of family life. However, no family will have a successful home life without spending time together. I know that many of us wonder where we’re gonna get the additional time we need for every-thing…Well, let me help you with that. YOU’RE NOT GETTING ANY ADDITIONAL TIME! As I pointed out—we’ve all got the same amount. 24 hours a day. 168 hours a week. So, if we are not getting any more, then we need to better budget the time we have.
What do you want your family life to be? Forget about the Brady Bunch or The Cleavers or Ozie and Harriet. (The Nelson’s) Those are families of fiction. However, if we would all submit ourselves to the Word of God and take the roles he has defined for our families, we just might find that they never will become perfect, but they sure can be better than we ever imagined. Having a great family is not something that happens by accident. It’s something that the entire family works at Intentionally!
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