Do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. Ephesians 6:4

"God sets the lonely in families" (Psalm 68:6). Just now the family, with its values and purposes, is under grave threat. The notion of a mother-father-child relationship seems arbitrary and random to many, and they are not beyond testing different forms of relationships.

But there is nothing arbitrary about the Lord's determination to make the family the basic unit to protect, educate, and fulfill the solitary souls of this world. Others may abandon the family unit in favor of some broader social organization or even the concept of total independence of individual, but God knew and knows what He is doing. And when He determined to establish the family as the structure for the nurture and growth and fulfillment of souls, He created a workable and functional pattern to assist and encourage the welfare of His world.

Christians must invest effort and time in the strengthening of the family. We are in the world but not of it. Family is assailed in our modern culture, and preserving its significance and worth becomes more and more difficult. Christians need purposely to employ every means to keep the family strong and to use it to bring up children and preserve one another in the faith.

PRAYER: Lord, help us to build our families on the foundation of Your will and Word, with Christ as the cornerstone; in His name. Amen.

(Devotions from "The Abundant Life" copyright 1998, CPH. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be printed, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of Concordia Publishing House. Permission is granted for one-time e-mailing of this link to a friend. For information on other devotional material, please contact CPH at 800-325-3040 or visit CPH at www.cph.org.)

Today's Bible Readings: 1 Samuel 24-27    Luke 23:1-25

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