The Order of Things

How it *should* be:

In our utter dependence as a child, we learn about authority, obedience, and the tender love of our parents as they are a living example of God the Father’s love for His children.

As we grow in wisdom, we start making our own decisions, rooted in faith and increasing maturity. Relationships with family and friends instruct us in kindness, forgiveness, charity, and mercy.

Eventually, we are blessed with a spouse. Different from any relationship prior, this covenant is made with God Himself at the center. Forsaking all others, we pledge ourselves to one another for life, bearing, believing, and hoping all things together. The lessons in perseverance, fidelity, and loyalty continue.

With that spouse, we bear the blessed fruit of our union: children.  Here, we come full circle. Once the child, now the parent. Once the dependent, now the source. The weight of responsibility is intense and drives us to our knees, asking for the guidance only God our Father can give.  

The family is a school, in which we learn how to be the adopted, beloved children of our heavenly Father through the example of godly parents and the experience of parenting our own children.  

It is no wonder that our Enemy’s assaults through the ages remain focused on destruction of the family, piece by piece, and as a whole.