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Bible Will I Find: A Christian Family's Responsibility? By: Gary Colley
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Bible Will I Find: A Christian Family's Responsibility? By: Gary Colley
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We were recently given a copy of the history for the fIrst 100 years of the Smyrna church of Christ, McMinnville, TN, covering the period from 1857 to 1957. What a joy to read of the faithful soldiers of the cross who have labored in the Lord's work so diligently over this span of years! Paul said we are to "fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life" (I Tim.6:12), and that we are to seek contentment in this life by Godly living (Rom.12:1-2; I Tim.6:6). In the beginning of time God established three divine institutions for the happiness and salvation of man: the home, the government, and the church. A lack of respect and rebellion for any of these will bring distress and difficulty to mankind. In the copy of the book referred to above, we found the following excellent article with good Biblical advice for young parents entitled, A CHRISTIAN'S FAMILY RESPONSIBILITY, by Lowell D. Turner. He wrote, "I want to stress the importance of a Christian family and urge young parents to realize their responsibility in properly rearing their children in a Christian home. A family is quite an "Institution." God brought it into existence in the Garden of Eden. It is the basic unit of our society. Some families are successful and others are not. Here are some of the principles a successful family must follow: 1. They must love one another and show it in various ways. 2. They like to be together, and are, at every opportunity. 3. They all hurt when one is hurting. 4. They are happy when one is victorious. 5. They support one another. 6. They may disagree, but they do not impugn character. 7. They don't always agree with every decision, but for this they do not leave the family. 8. Each member does his part to maintain a harmonious operation of the family. 9. Each member has family loyalty. 10. Each member keeps family problems in the family and does not discuss it with neighbors of friends. 11. Each individual in the family must worship God according to His commandments given to us in the Bible. 12. Family worship and prayer are a basic foundation for a "Christian Family." We commend all of these thoughts to families everywhere! The writer of Psalms said, "Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it.." (Psa.127:1). The New Testament says, "Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honor thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord" (Eph.6:1-4). These things are the heavy responsibility of Christian families.-Gary Colley