Title: The Christian Home / Ephesians 4:1-6
Contents Christian's Assumption
Ephesians 4:1-6, Psalm 37:22-31
Humans cannot live apart from home. You were born into a family, you grew up in a family, and at some point you will have a family that you are responsible for. Therefore, the family is not just a group of people, it is the root of life that makes us human and determines the person we become. 30% of what a person becomes can be born with nature, but the remaining 70% is created in the environment in which they are raised. And most of that environment is occupied by the home. Being a good believer is something that is inherited, trained, and acquired through family. The practice of faith is also from the family, the practice of love is from the family, and sharing and comfort are also from the family. That is the appearance of a family worthy of the calling. Today's verse is not about the family. This is a verse that talks about the fundamental stance of faith. However, this verse also applies to family life.
1. Humility and meekness
.....Walk worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all lowliness and gentleness... Ephesians 4:1-2
The first sign of the Christian home is humility and meekness. There should be respect for each other in the family. Family members are easy-going and easy to treat. It's easy to talk to each other carelessly or to expose your feelings. You don't have to show face in your family, but you do need to be respectful. From a heart of respect, humility to understand and care for each other comes out, and from a heart of respect comes meekness that allows for a soft conversation. Such a family is a family of faith and a blessed family.
Most Korean Christians have their bodies in the church, but their minds are immersed in the Confucian framework, so the beauty of Christians tends to be hard to see. May we become beautiful families who value each other through humility and gentleness.
2. Love and Patience
Forbearing one another in love with longsuffering... Ephesians 4:2
The power of the family is love. A loving relationship of mutual acceptance through love makes the family assumed. Home is like the arms of a mother who embraces everything. A mother's embrace is good because she has infinite love in her. Because infinite forgiveness is in it. Home is a place where you can go back even after you have failed everything.
The place where the prodigal son spent all his possessions and had a sick body eventually returned to--the home. And the family was the place where there was love that accepted the prodigal son's past without asking. A home should be a place where you can find everything even if you lose it, and a place where you can go back even after you fail.
Let me make a shameful confession. When I was in the 4th grade of elementary school, there was a time when I spent several times looking through my father's bag. One night, my father and mother called me in the middle of the night. I had a gut feeling at that time. 'Things are messed up. It's dead now.' Surely that night I trembled, imagining that the earlobe would fly away. But my father would call me to sit down and say this in a very low voice, and in a voice of genuine concern and compassion. 'Hey, what are you going to do in the future...?' This father's attitude and voice sounded like an angel's voice to me, who had imagined the earlobe would fly away. I could not speak, but tears were dripping like chicken dung. Since then I have washed my hands. I think now. If the earlobe flew away then, perhaps what would have happened to me... Rather, my crooked heart had not been melted by the voice of love.... I believe it was.
There are saints who pray with tears in their eyes because their children are not like me. How painful and painful are the hearts of parents who see their children when they go sideways and endangered? But don't worry and pray. If you go forward with endless prayer and love, a blessed day will surely come.
The Lord has established a man's steps, and he is pleased with his way.
He stumbles, but he does not stumble, for the LORD upholds him by his hand.
From my youth to old age, I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his descendants begging for food.
All day long he shows mercy and lends, and his descendants are blessed. Psalm 37:23-26
3. Belt of Peace
Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Ephesians 4:3
A home is not a place or a space, but a relationship that is bound by bonds of love with family members. Even if there is no house, a family is a happy family if it is firmly bound by the bonds of love and peace. However, even if they are in the same house, such as whales, if we say that we are in a relationship where we fill each other's hearts with each other and only stick to our own stubbornness, we are losing the true form of a family.
Reconciliation even with just a piece of dry bread
It is better than having a house full of flesh and strife. Proverbs 17:1
In the world, there are interest groups gathered around profit, there are random groups gathered around hobbies, and there are accidental groups gathered by chance. But the assumption is none of that. The family is a gathering that belongs to God's creation order, which has been united by the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the family is the place where God's order of creation is achieved through mutual love and reconciliation. The chaos of the family is the chaos of society, and the chaos of the family is the chaos of God's creation order. Therefore, we need to plant the Christian spirit rightly in our homes to live in the world with an upright Christian heart, and to instill that mindset in our children so that they can live in the world with a right outlook on life.
4. One Hope, One Faith
There is one body and one Spirit
In the same way you were called in one hope of your calling. Ephesians 4:4
People can never become one. The only way for people to become one is for their hearts to become one. Being united in heart is the way to unite people. Faith is a matter of the heart, eyes to see the world, and attitude toward life. Therefore, if we do not become one in faith, our hearts cannot already become one. Therefore, for a truly united family, the family of the saints must become one hope and one faith.
For some, it is very difficult because the head of the family is not a Christian. In that case, I want you to focus on three things. The first is to create a Christian home atmosphere. During the Christian season, the decoration of the home is changed and the food is also made special. Second, you should never miss your children. Make sure you take care of your children's faith. If you miss your children, you must realize that you are not confident in your life of faith. Third, keep your faith while praying, but except for living your life of faith, I hope you will do your best to become the best wife, best husband, and best child by obedience and love.
In particular, I would like to recommend to young believers who are raising their children. I hope to create a Christian family tradition. believe in jesus go to church That said, it is not a Christian tradition. A Christian family has to be a Christian family to have a Christian family tradition. It is the heart of a Christian to worship well, to see the world with a grateful heart, to treat people with a bright heart, and to live the world with a devotion.
I've seen people who don't eat green onions in their food at all. I found out later that not all the children in the house were eating green onions. Just like faith, children learn the habits of living in the world and learn values through their parents' attitudes toward life. You will also learn to believe. What I am today will be the faith attitude of my children in the future. Today's children's faith is the original form of my faith.
Dear brothers and sisters, I hope that you will build a Christian family tradition. Otherwise, you become a clumsy Christian, who doesn't leave the church, but doesn't devote yourself to it, doesn't seem to have abandoned the faith but doesn't truly believe in God, claims to be from a Christian family, but has almost no Christian life. this is going to be And your children will end up being such clumsy Christians.
There are a lot of bad people, a lot of scammers, and a lot of weird people in the world. But looking back, there are many good people. Rather, it is because there are so many good people that the world operates this way. To brighten the world with a positive mind, that is also our mission as Christians, and it should be the shape of our Christian family. While practicing these Christian values of gratitude, devotion, consideration, and sharing at home, our home will become bright and beautiful, and our children will grow up with such Christian values and later become great Christian talents who change the world. .
A family in which Jesus is the master of the house and the Word is the goal of life can never be a family that falls, goes wrong, or fails. A family centered on Jesus has grace and gratitude. There is joy and love in the life Jesus is the master. A life in which the Word is the goal is lively and bold. Therefore, the family of faith becomes a blessed family.
In today's Word, we are told to walk worthy of your calling (4:1). It is about living like a Christian. How can I live like a Christian? It is to live in humility and gentleness, patience and love, peace, one hope and one faith. These are the values that apply to our homes. I bless you as believers who always build a happy family of true Christians through this kind of faith and life.
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