It’s pretty clear that Satan is going to be no friend of the family. Think about all that Satan can disrupt if he disrupts family. He disrupts our task of bringing more of God’s image-bearers into this world while also eroding the most basic and foundational social structure that supports and strengthens human beings so can they thrive in carrying out God’s plan. He also disrupts those pictures that help us understand God as Trinity, that help us understand how God saves his people, how Christ and his church relate, and how we relate to one another.
Over the past couple of weeks I’ve shared a few articles dealing with family from a Christian perspective. We have seen along the way that family plays a very important role in God’s plan for God’s world. Hecreated the family so it’s his to define. And he created the family for two great reasons: to carry out his will and to picture his truth.
Today I just want to add this to the mix: If family truly comes from the mind of God and plays such an essential role in his world, don’t you think this explains why there are so many attacks on the family? It’s pretty clear that Satan is going to be no friend of the family. Think about all that Satan can disrupt if he disrupts family. He disrupts our task of bringing more of God’s image-bearers into this world while also eroding the most basic and foundational social structure that supports and strengthens human beings so can they thrive in carrying out God’s plan. He also disrupts those pictures that help us understand God as Trinity, that help us understand how God saves his people, how Christ and his church relate, and how we relate to one another. No wonder, then, that the family is such a battleground! And as I’m sure you’ve seen, the attack isn’t just on the family, but on your family. Satan doesn’t just want to destroy family in general, but your family in particular.
So what can you do? I think we are prone to making this way more complicated than it really needs to be. You simply need to go to God’s Word and obey its instructions. You’ll find that God is for family—he is for your family. God tells you how to honor and obey him. Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church. Wives, submit to your own husbands as to the Lord. Spouses, stay true to your covenantal vows. Parents, raise your children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. Little children, obey your parents in the Lord for this is right. Grown up children, honor your parents and make some return to them. Just look to the Bible and do what it says! This will be good for your family. But it it will also accomplish something else that’s good for the world.
