Responsible adults and families

A deacon must be faithful to his wife and must manage his children and his household well.  Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus. (1 Timothy 3:12-13)

This is good advice for any household that claims the Lordship of Christ. Whether we hold an office in the church or not, we are to represent Christ well within our families so the world can observe a difference. 

We all that one or two within our homes. . . that independent, unique, special child. Admit it. We want to allow him or her to flourish but we need to have some boundaries . . . some sense of  normalcy.

So how are we to shape the will while preserving the child’s spirit intact? It is accomplished by establishing reasonable boundaries and enforcing them with love. Prayerfully, we also must avoid any implication that the child is unwanted, unnecessary, foolish, a burden, or an embarrassment. It takes prayer, advice, counsel, even some Godly correction and discipleship for the parents. God has wired our kids all differently and today's environment has a definite role to play as well. It definitely takes a village and also a lot of humility on everyone's part. Believe me . . . I am living it!

Husbands and wives, men and women, children . . . let's work on this so our light can indeed shine and where we go we can leave a little salt behind to change the flavor of the environment in which we live!