I will share about Christian books I have read or listened to.
I will be sharing about my life before and after Christ. I will include stories about my pet and other pets I have encountered.
Loving Your Family
The word family can carry a lot of different meanings, depending on who you ask. But, the command to love your family comes straight from God.
In the Old Testament, the command to honor your father and mother was included in the Ten Commandments that God gave to Moses for the people of Israel:
Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
Exodus 20:12 NIV
As Paul, the author of Ephesians, is teaching the church in Ephesus about the implications of following Jesus, he repeats this command from the Ten Commandments. Paul knew that if we are to follow Jesus then we need to learn to love everybody, even those who are closest to us—and especially our own family.
Now, everybody grows up in different family circumstances. Some are born into nuclear families, some are raised in situations of brokenness, and others are welcomed into adoptive families. Regardless of how or where we grew up, God calls us to love those who raised us.
That may be a hard thing to do. Sometimes a family member seems like our greatest enemy because of how they’ve hurt us. But even in that, Jesus encourages us to love our enemies and pray for them.
While learning to love those who are closest to us may be one of the most difficult things we do, it is also one of the most life-changing. It increases our capacity to see and love others, as well as honor God with our life. Consider how you can take steps today to better love those God has placed in your life.
Think Like a Child
Think about the greatest person you’ve ever met. What is it about the person that makes them stand out to you? Maybe it’s their accomplishments, their character, their power or wealth, or the way they handle hard situations.
Now compare that impressive person to a child in your life. According to Jesus, anyone who is truly great in His kingdom will be like that little child. In fact, to even enter into His kingdom, we need to be childlike. Here’s why:
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Children rely on others to meet their needs. Little children instinctively know that they are vulnerable and helpless. They aren’t afraid to ask for help when they need it because they know that help from the right person is their source of strength.
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Children don’t care about acquiring power. They don’t view others as threats to their authority because they don’t have any authority to threaten. Everything a child has is given to them.
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Children know who they belong to. Children know who to run to when ...
