Day of Praise 4

Aren't you glad that God designed and planned for us to have families? What a blessing our family can be!

A father has many roles: a teacher, an example, a provider. We can see many good examples in the Bible to guide dads in leading their children in God's pathway:

              Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your
              God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
              These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.
               Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home
              and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you
              get up.  (Deuteronomy 6:4-7)

              Therefore I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands without
              anger or disputing. (I Timothy 2:8)
 
Dads also should be training their children:

              Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old
              they will not turn from it. (Proverbs 22:6)

              Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the
              training and instruction of the Lord. (Ephesians 6:4)

We moms have many roles, as well. (I know, I see you rolling your eyes....I am not just talking about chauffeur, laundry queen, cook and bottle washer!)

Respect and love for our husbands:
             
             However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and
             the wife must respect her husband. (Ephesians 5:33)

             Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to
             be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. ⁴ Then they
             can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, ⁵ to be self-
             controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their
             husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God. (Titus 2:3-5)

And our study of Proverbs 31 gave us some insights into Godly living and also gave us goals to aspire to.
Our children can be a source of joy and also of pride, as we see them reverence God and fulfill their potential.

              Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him. Like
             arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth. Blessed is
             the man whose quiver is full of them. (Psalm 127:3-5)

Children have responsibilities:

              Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father
              and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— “so that it
              may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.” (Eph 6:1-3)

Jesus was trained as a carpenter (Mark 6:3), and Paul as a tentmaker (Acts 18:3), and their examples should be followed. Being busy and working at things are important to children. It's a wise family that encourages hard work and industry for both boys and girls:

              And all the women that were wise hearted did spin with their hands, and
             brought that which they had spun, both of blue, and of purple, and of
             scarlet, and of fine linen. And all the women whose heart stirred them up
             in wisdom spun goats' hair. (Exodus 35:25-26)
. . . but these responsibilities need to be balanced with fun:

             And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing . . .
             (Zechariah 8:5)

Lastly, our grandparents and other elders are important parts of our families.

            You shall stand up before the gray head and honor the face of the old
             man . . . (Leviticus 19:32)

             The glory of young men is their strength, but the splendor of old men
             is their gray hair. (Proverbs 20:29)

We are exhorted to respect the elderly in our Christian families, and to value the mentoring that they can offer. Their wisdom and advice can make a real difference.
 
Praise Him!