Title Ephesians 05:22~ Heaven and Home
Contents
heaven and home
Ephesians 5:22-6:4
“Wives! Submit to your husband as to the Lord
For the husband is the head of the wife, just as Christ is the head of the church; he himself is the Savior of the body.
But as the church is to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.
Husbands! Love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it.
It was immediately washed with water and made clean with the word, sanctified.
that he might set before him a glorious church, without speck or wrinkle or such, holy and without blemish.
In the same way, husbands must love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.
No one at any time hates his own body, but nourishes and protects it, just as Christ nourishes the church.
We are members of that body.
Therefore a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and the two become one flesh.
This secret is great! I speak of Christ and of the church
But each of you must love his wife as himself, and let the wife fear her husband.
Children! Obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.
Honor your father and mother, for this is the first commandment with a promise.
that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth
Again, fathers! Do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and admonition of the Lord.”
May is Family Month. Every year, we designate May 5th as Children's Day and May 8th as Mother's Day to remind us of the importance of family. Many people think about the family, but the sad thing is that they are not making the right efforts to create a happy family. Then, let's find out together what a family is and how to create a happy family.
First, heaven is the home.
The Bible can be said to be a book that begins with a family and ends with a family. The first part of Genesis begins with the family, and the second half of Revelation ends with the description of the marriage ceremony and the family. The last book of the Old Testament, Malachi, closes the Old Testament era with a description of the relationship between parents and children, and the first book of the New Testament, the Gospel of Matthew, opens the New Testament era with the story of birth in a family. Moreover, the first miracle performed by Jesus Christ was at a wedding feast in Cana.
Heaven is the home, and the home is a little paradise. Just as there is Heavenly Father and a son in heaven, there are parents and children in the home. Just as there are the bridegroom Jesus and the bride in heaven, there are also the groom and the bride in the home. Martin Luther, the Reformer, said, "The home of a loving couple is a visible paradise." In this way, the home is the place of the first blessing given by God and the true resting place of man.
However, Satan, who is well aware of the importance of this family, is trying to destroy our homes even now, just as he destroyed the male leadership in Adam and Eve's home. So, many families in this age are falling apart due to divorce of married couples, lack of home education, overflowing alcohol and drugs, sexual promiscuity and commercialization, and materialism. As the family that should be heaven resembles the image of hell, the family hell becomes a social hell, resulting in chaos and destruction of the nation. Then, how can we live in a heavenly home?
Second, a family with a father's dream
In order to achieve the home heaven, we must have a dream that God gives us. Today, many families are living their lives without hope or joy, giving up on the future. Most men have been reduced to 'money making machines'. They lose their true purpose in life and live only in pursuit of material things.
God has established men as 'heads of the family'. “For the husband is the head of the wife, just as Christ is the head of the church, and he himself is the savior of the body” (Ephesians 5:23). show you God, who commanded Abraham, “Leave the land, your relatives, and your father’s house, and go to the land that I will show you” (Genesis 12:1-3), says the same to husbands and fathers today. Therefore, men should listen to those words, dream of tomorrow, and lead their wives and children to the land the Lord is pointing to. The reason why so many men today have become 'low-headed fathers' is because they do not have dreams to show their wives or children, and they do not have the Word of God to hear. Fathers are to be leaders in home worship. You must become a warrior of morning prayer. We must become people who can discern God's will by reading, listening, and meditating on God's Word. The Bible says, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, which is good and pleasing and perfect” (Romans 12:2).
Third, a family with a mother's faith
In order to achieve the home heaven, we must have faith in the woman who is the mother and wife of the family. You must have faith not only in God, but also in your husband and children.
However, many women today have lost faith in their husbands and are becoming more like Job's wife.
When Job was tempted and lost everything, Job's wife, instead of comforting and encouraging him, uttered abusive words to her husband, "Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die" (Job 2:9). swollen.
The Lord commands wives to believe and obey their husbands. “Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:22). So, it's not about crawling scornfully. Trusting your husband to the end and praying for him is the shortcut to heaven at home.
It was thanks to his wife's devoted faith and encouragement that Henry Ford, the automobile king, succeeded in inventing the automobile to the end in the face of ridicule from the locals in 1883. So, if you go to his memorial in the United States, there is a saying like this. "Henry Ford is a dreamer, and his wife is a man of faith." As such, a wife is not a 'desired matchmaker' but a 'helper matchmaker'. Therefore, it is the wife's duty to make up for her husband's shortcomings, rather than to criticize them.
A mother should be an example of faith to her children and at the same time have faith in them. The problem of mothers in this age is to have 'greed' rather than 'belief' for their children. Children are not mine, but God-given inheritance (Psalm 127:3). Children must have faith that they have the talents God has given them as beings created in the image and likeness of God. What children need is not money, but mother's love and approval. A child of a mother who prays with tears will never perish.
Fourth, a family with children's obedience
In order for the family to become heaven, there must be obedience. In addition to obedience to Heavenly Father, children's obedience to their parents can achieve the kingdom of heaven. The Bible says, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right; honor your father and mother, for these are the first commandments with a promise” (Ephesians 6:1-2).
But why are children not obedient today? This is because they were told to 'do whatever you want' under the pretext of saving their children's spirit, but they did not teach them 'don't do it' at all. There are two commandments to 'do' in the Ten Commandments, but there are eight commandments to 'don't'. A child who has been told to 'do what you want' will eventually indulge in self-indulgence and become a failure in society that neither God nor their parents know.
The real goal of educating children is to fear God and keep His Word and practice it. And parents should pursue justice and righteousness in their children's lives and educational environments, and raise their children with the Lord's education and admonition. “And fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4). means In this way, we should not raise our children according to the standards of the world, but we should raise them according to the heart of God.
The Bible exhorts us to teach even when we are young (Proverbs 23:14). On the other hand, parents should be able to ponder and pray with their children when they are lost in adolescence. Children are trained as their parents show them. Children grow up watching their parents' backs.
God has established a church on this earth for the future kingdom of heaven, and God has established a family on earth to taste and enjoy a small kingdom of heaven. Let's all follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit and make our homes a home with dreams, faith and obedience, so let's build a happy family heaven with blessings and rest.
- Prayer -
Lord, who loves and gives grace every day, make our homes a paradise. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen