Revere Your Mother and Father
Yesterday was my parents 60th wedding anniversary, and today we are having a simple reception for them. That is the reason that Leviticus 19:3 caught my attention this morning as I read God's Word. It is not just a good idea to revere your parents; it is a command. For me, it is a very easy command to keep and to keep it with joy.
I have never known a day of my life that I did not know that I was loved by my mother and father. Sure, I went through all of those phases of life in which I thought they were being unfair, or in which I thought I knew more than they did. The fact is that I could always count on them to tell me the truth and to love me with unconditional love. It is easy to revere parents like that.
My parents were raised in hard times by parents who started out with nothing. Mom's father was adopted by a family in Kansas, so he moved there from Kentucky and met his future wife in elementary school. They eventually moved to Colorado where they built a life for their family, as Grandpa Howey worked for the Sante Fe railroad building bridges and working for weeks away from his family. Dad's father had to have many jobs during the Depression, but he was faithful to provide for his family through it all. By being responsible citizens they enabled their children to have many things they never enjoyed. My parents became the salt of the earth people who do not make excuses about life. They simply work hard and get it done. It is easy to revere parents like that.
My parents taught me to keep the Lord's Sabbaths. From the time I was born we went to church. Believing in God was a fact of life. Dad always said, "If you want a church in your neighborhood, then go to the church in your neighborhood," so that is what we did. My parents did not practice religion. They went to church, because they have a personal faith in God. Their sincerity helped lead me to the Lord. It is easy to revere parents like that.
It is a great blessing from the Lord to have this time for them today. Not many people are faithful enough and live long enough to celebrate 60 years of marriage. It is an example of stability that this generation needs to learn. Many of the ills of our society stem from the fact that our homes are broken, and our children do not have loving parents who have a stable marriage. Come by between 2 and 5 PM, if you want to help us celebrate what God can do, if we will just trust Him day by day, and work hard to do the right thing, even if it is not easy.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Leviticus 20-22.
I have never known a day of my life that I did not know that I was loved by my mother and father. Sure, I went through all of those phases of life in which I thought they were being unfair, or in which I thought I knew more than they did. The fact is that I could always count on them to tell me the truth and to love me with unconditional love. It is easy to revere parents like that.
My parents were raised in hard times by parents who started out with nothing. Mom's father was adopted by a family in Kansas, so he moved there from Kentucky and met his future wife in elementary school. They eventually moved to Colorado where they built a life for their family, as Grandpa Howey worked for the Sante Fe railroad building bridges and working for weeks away from his family. Dad's father had to have many jobs during the Depression, but he was faithful to provide for his family through it all. By being responsible citizens they enabled their children to have many things they never enjoyed. My parents became the salt of the earth people who do not make excuses about life. They simply work hard and get it done. It is easy to revere parents like that.
My parents taught me to keep the Lord's Sabbaths. From the time I was born we went to church. Believing in God was a fact of life. Dad always said, "If you want a church in your neighborhood, then go to the church in your neighborhood," so that is what we did. My parents did not practice religion. They went to church, because they have a personal faith in God. Their sincerity helped lead me to the Lord. It is easy to revere parents like that.
It is a great blessing from the Lord to have this time for them today. Not many people are faithful enough and live long enough to celebrate 60 years of marriage. It is an example of stability that this generation needs to learn. Many of the ills of our society stem from the fact that our homes are broken, and our children do not have loving parents who have a stable marriage. Come by between 2 and 5 PM, if you want to help us celebrate what God can do, if we will just trust Him day by day, and work hard to do the right thing, even if it is not easy.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Leviticus 20-22.