To be a Disciple of Christ in a Family
We briefly examined what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ in our walk before God. Now we will look at another area of our lives, as the disciples of Jesus Christ - the family. Our life consists of relationships. The very first circle of relations in which the absolute majority of believers is located is the family.
Every person living in a family is in one or two of the following positions: husband, father, wife, mother, son, daughter, brother or sister. Any disciple of Jesus Christ, who is even in one of these positions, has certain rights and also duties towards other members of his family, commanded to him by God:
Sir.17: 1-2, 12 "The Lord created man from the earth, and again brings it back to it. A certain number of days and time he gave them, and gave them power over all that is on it.
And he said to them: "beware of all unrighteousness"; and has EVERYONE DECLINED RESPONSIBILITIES TO THE MIDDLE ".
Let us briefly consider how the Holy Scriptures teach us what it means to be a disciple or disciple of Jesus Christ in the position of a wife, husband, children and parents in the family.
Wives
The Apostle Paul and the Apostle Peter, speaking of the duties of the disciples of Jesus Christ in the family, always begin with wives, although it is the husbands who are the head of the wife and the head of the family. Why is this so? Because the wives have the primary responsibility for the organization of their family, their home. If the husband is not in his place and does not perform his duties properly, but the wife conscientiously fulfills her duties as wife and true disciple of Jesus Christ - this family can exist, although not fully.
But if the wife is not in her place and does not perform her duties, even if the husband tries to fulfill his, such a family is usually not capable of survival. In it, most likely, there will be complete confusion, chaos and destruction:
Proverbs 14: 1 "A wise woman builds her house, but a fool will destroy him with her own hands."
Ef.5: 22-24 "Wives, obey your husbands as the Lord, because the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ is the head of the church, and He is the Savior of the body. But how the Church obeys Christ, so also the wives to their husbands in everything. "
Another Scripture tells us that wives not only have to obey their husbands as the Lord, but also love husbands, love children, and maintain cleanliness and order in their homes. Let's read what older women should teach the younger:
Tit.2: 4-5 "that they teach the young men to love their husbands, to love their children, 5 to be chaste, pure, caring for the house, kind, submissive to their husbands, and not condemn the word of God."
And what if the husband is an unbeliever, if he is not like Christ, if he does not obey God's word? How, then, should the believing wives behave? The Apostle Peter gives us the answer to this:
1Pet.3: 1-2 "And you also, wives, obey your husbands, that those of them who do not obey the word, the life of their wives without a word, be acquired when they see your pure, God-fearing life."
Husbands
It is the duty of husbands to wisely treat their wives, to honor them, to love them as themselves, and to materially provide (nourish and warm) their wives and their families.
1Pet.3: 7 "Also, you, husbands, address wisely with wives as with a feeble vessel, honoring them as co-heirs of a blessed life, so that you will not be impeded in prayers."
Eph.5: 25-33 "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for it, to sanctify it, cleansing it with a bath of water through the word; to present it to Himself as a glorious Church, not having a stain, or blemish, or anything of the kind, but that it be holy and without blemish.
So should husbands love their wives as their own bodies: the one who loves his wife loves himself. For no one has ever hatred of his flesh, but nourishes and heats her, like the Lord the Church, because we are members of his body, of his flesh and of his bones.
Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife, and the two shall be one flesh. This mystery is great; I'm talking about Christ and the Church.
So each of you let him love his wife as himself; and let the wife be afraid of her husband. "
Children
The responsibility of children in the family is respect (deep respect) for their parents. This respect must be expressed in respect for them, manifested in words and deeds, but most of all in obedience and obedience to them.
Ephesians 6: 1-3 "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother, this is the first commandment with a promise: that it may be well with you, and you will be long on earth. "
If parents are in some way wrong, or behave badly, this does not give children the slightest permission or the right to stop honoring them. God simply tells us: "Honor your father and your mother" (Ex.20: 12). He does not tell us that we should honor our father and mother only when they are good, or when we agree with them.
In cases where parents require anything from us that is contrary to the will of God, reverence does not necessarily mean obedience, because "we must obey God more than men" (Acts 5:29). But even in such cases, our disagreement with parents should be expressed with reverence and deep respect for them, as required by the fifth commandment.
For adult children, respect for parents should also be expressed in caring for them, and providing them with everything necessary for a decent life. This is clearly evident from the words of Jesus told to the scribes and Pharisees:
Matthew 15: 3-6 "And he answered and said unto them, Wherefore also do ye transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? For God commanded: Honor the father and mother; and: He that curseth father or mother with death let him die. And you say: if a man says to his father or mother: the gift of God to whatever you use of me, he may not honor his father or his mother; so you have removed the commandment of God by your tradition. "
Fathers
Fathers and mothers also have certain responsibilities in relation to their children. Let's read about some of them:
Ephesians 6: 4 "And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the teaching and admonition of the Lord."
Cyr. 7: 25-27 "Do you have sons?" Teach them and from the youth bend their neck. Have you got a daughter? Have regard to their body, and do not show them your merry face. Give your daughter a marriage, and you will do a great thing, and give it to your reasonable husband. "
The duty of parents is also the material support of children, the collection of inheritance for them:
2 Cor.12: 14 (b) "Not children should collect the estate for parents, but parents for children."
Prov. 13: 23 (a) "The good leave an inheritance to his grandchildren."
Proverbs 19: 14 "The house and the estate are an inheritance from the parents, and the prudent wife is from the Lord."
