Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Family”
Our Bible verse for today: “This is why a man leaves his father and mother and bonds with his wife, and they become one flesh.” Genesis 2:24 (HCSB)
Our thought for today: “The Biblical model is our starting point for thinking about family.”
In the beginning, in the Garden of Eden, before sin had entered into the world and therefore all things were still perfect, God established His model for marriage and family. It consisted of one man and one woman united as husband and wife for a lifetime. Out of that union they were then to produce children. As the scripture reads:
“Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it.” Genesis 1:28. And, “Adam was intimate with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain.” Genesis 4:1.
So right there in the beginning chapters of Genesis we find God’s best-case scenario for family. It consisted of a father, a mother, and children, all living together in the same household. This is the classic “nuclear” family. Every other family arrangement since then has been a step beyond, and further from, God’s perfect model. And you don’t have to read very far in Genesis before you begin to see the human race moving further and further away from God’s perfect model.
This is a touchy subject because we’re talking about people’s families here, and there are many family situations which, although they are a couple of steps removed from God’s best-case scenario, they are still very good families. My own family is a case-in-point. God has blessed me with four children, each of whom I love very much. Each of them is adopted but they’re as much my children as if they came from me biologically. One of the highlights of my life has been the privilege of being the father of my children, and ours has been a very good family life. That’s true even though it’s not a perfect match with God’s perfect model.
There are many other examples of “blended” families which involve spouses who have each been married and divorced, and who bring to the new marriage children from previous marriages. I know of many families that fit this description. They are strong families who have a wonderful family life which honors God.
The fact is that we live in an imperfect world filled with imperfect people. That means we’re often going to find ourselves in imperfect circumstances that do not perfectly match God’s perfect model but which can still be very, very good.
However we also need to recognize that the further away we get from God’s perfect model, the more imperfect our situations become. With respect to families in our society today, we are now at the point of legalized gay marriage. So now “Johnny has two daddies” and “Susie has two mommies”. While I don’t doubt that some gay couples can be loving and nurturing parents, we do have to acknowledge that such family units are many steps removed from God’s perfect model.
As we continue to consider this subject of family from a Biblically based devotional perspective, we need to keep in mind God’s best and original design, which is one man and one woman united as husband and wife for life – with children to follow.
Even in those situations which don’t perfectly match God’s best-case model, such as in adopted families and blended families, our goal is to establish a family life as close to God’s model as possible. The closer we are to that, the stronger our families will be.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 