Family Matters
There is a good reason why God created and ordained the family before He ordained any other human institutions. The family is the building block of society. If the family is weak the entire culture is weak. In fact, if the family is weak, then the government and the church will be hindered greatly, as well. There are so many ways that the family is essential to the well-being of all of its members that I would not be able to list all of them. However, I know one that is very important. Family members are to provide comfort and support for each other through all of the circumstances of life. We see a good example of this in Ephraim's life. (I Chronicles 7:22) When the men of Gath killed his sons, Ephraim mourned for a long time. However, his relatives came to comfort him. That is what families did then, and our families need to do the same today.
One of the greatest things we can do to help our family members is to care enough to listen to them. Sometimes, there are not any words that will comfort or encourage them, but when we care enough to listen, that helps to lift the burden off of their hearts. Also, our presence shows we love them, and we want to help in any way we can. That also speaks volumes in a time of need. However, I would say that most of the time our family members know us better than anyone else, so they know best how to comfort us and speak to the need of our heart. When we are mourning, when we are stressed, or when we are discouraged, the right word at the right time makes a huge difference. Then, of course, we know best how to pray for our family members, and we need to be doing that all of the time, in the good times and in the hard times. I pray that we will be there for our family members through thick and thin. This is what the Lord designed, and when we see a family member in need, God will give us a Scripture, or a story, or an action we can share so our family member is restored and our family remains strong.
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Tomorrow, I intend to read I Chronicles 8-11.