Beloved in Christ,
Warm Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
We are entering in the Advent and Christmas season. Christmas is the time of rejoicing and worshiping God for his greatness and mercies. Birth of Jesus is glad tiding of great joy. In the month of December, we celebrate Family Day. A good Christian family is one that lines up with Biblical principles and one in which each member understands and fulfills his or her God given role. The family is not an institution designed by man. It was created by God for the benefit of man and man has been given stewardship over it. One of the primary principles of the family unit is that it involves a commitment ordained by God for the lifetime of the members. The husband and wife are responsible for holding it together.
The first requirement for the members of a Christian family is that they all be Christians, having a true relationship with Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Ephesians . 5: 22-23 provides the guidelines for husbands and wives in a Christian family. The husband has to love his wife as Christ loved the church and a wife should respect her husband and willingly submit to his leadership in the family. The husband’s leadership role should start with his own spiritual relationship with God and then guiding his wife and children in spiritual values. Fathers are to bring up their children in “the training and instruction of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4). Father is also to provide for his family and if he does not ,he “denies the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” (1 Timothy 5:8). So, a man who makes no effort to provide his family has no right to call himself a Christian. This does not mean hat wife cannot assist in supporting the family. Proverbs 31 demonstrates that a Godly wife may surely do so. But it is the prime responsibility of the husband to provide for the family.
In Genesis 2: 18-20 says that woman was given to man for the purpose of helping him and to bear children. In a Christian marriage husband and wife are to remain faithful to one another for their life time. Men and women are created in God’s image and are equally valuable in His eyes. However this does not mean that men and women have identical roles n life. Women are more adept at nurturing and caring for the young, while men are equipped to provide for and protect the family.
The prime responsibilities of the children in a Christian family are to obey their parents and to honor them (Ephes. 6: 1-3). Obeying parents is the duty of children until they reach adulthood, but honoring parents is their responsibility for their life time. God promises His blessings on those who honor their parents. Ideally a Christian family will have all members committed to Christ and His service. When a husband, wife and children all fulfill their God’s appointed roles, then peace and harmony reign in the home. But if we try to have a Christian family without Christ as head or without adhering to the Biblical principles the Lord has lovingly provided for us, the home will suffer.
In this last month of this year, it is my prayer and wish that the Lord Jesus Christ would bless you with joy and happiness as we celebrate Christmas. May our Lord strengthen all family to be used as the channel of blessing for His ministry all throughout the years to come.
May God bless you all
Yours in Christ
Rev. C.C.Sabu
