We Are All Proclaiming Something

I went to men's prayer breakfast this morning and heard a WONDERFUL advocating of family worship. We read from Ephesians 5:22-6:4, a well known (and sometimes misinterpreted) passage of Scripture.

It speaks of the wife submitting to the husband and the husband loving the wife as Christ loves the Church; the visiting pastor (also named David and a pastor of a ARP Church in Blacksburg?) very correctly pointed out that the passage was NOT about the privilege that a man derives from that passage, but in fact the responsibility of men to their families. I am the first to say that I do not practice family worship as I should, and don't pray often enough with my wife--our pastor David pointed out that it takes a real intimacy to pray with your spouse, and this is something that has to be developed through the action of prayer.

The visiting pastor pointed out that there has been a real abdication of responsibility of men/families within the Church when it comes to spiritual instruction and family worship, and certain statistics were thrown out to show how many children leave the faith (being defined as not being a member of a local church) after a certain time subsequent to high school. The percentages were high and some objected to them bringing in examples of the prodigal son, that they don't tell the full story, etc. But focusing in on the numbers or their fallibility misses the point. The passage focuses on the responsibility of the man as head of the family to model and live out his faith by his instruction and discipline. We will be accountable for what WE do--focusing in on the complexity of the situation and other cultural factors will allow us, if we are not careful, to excuse our inaction when it comes to spiritual instruction to the family. We might say, "Johnny has strayed a little bit, but it's that city he's living in--it's too liberal" or "the college he chose doesn't have any good churches nearby" and so on.

But do we ignore the Psalms and Proverbs where it says "train up a child in the way he would go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it?" Do we not try?

I am of a younger generation, and though I do not have children, I am a product of the generation where youth functions and groups were designed to completely fill the gap created by the lack of instruction at home. As time has gone on, more and more "innovations" are put forth to pull more kids in--but if they don't see that lived out at home, there's a disconnect. The whole schematic is backwards. Home should be where the spiritual foundation is laid, and the church in its functions for youth should reinforce what is already or mostly known.

I agree with the visiting pastor--I don't have anything against youth groups--but it asks the youth leader to do more than he's able. If you abdicate your responsibility of spiritual discipline and instruction to the pastors of the local church, do you know what you're saying? "Hey Pastor Bob, would you raise my kids?" Because that's what it really amounts to! You can't shove the kid into youth group (at least the ideal) where the Word is preached and God's commands are advocated and then expect him to come home, see the exact opposite (or at least only apathy toward spiritual things) and be able to process the contradiction! It's like having two parents who have two completely different standards.

And this brings me to the title of this post--we all proclaim something with how we live our lives. Some will say, "I am not evangelist, I don't really know how to witness well" etc. But I would challenge you that are witnessing to people everyday, whether you know it or not--if they know you go to church, even that you are a Christian, you proclaim something. In your relationships, your work ethic, your temperament, and so on.

We as men will be held accountable for how we carry out the responsibility we have been given over our families, and it is something, when I think about it, that shakes me to the core because I know that I have failed miserably in it. But as someone so correctly pointed out this morning, it is not too late to start now.

Christ is not just a part of our life, he should BE our life, permeating our conversation and our thoughts, as well as our relationships with our family. This can only happen through immersion in the Word and gaining knowledge about our God, having His praises on our lips through song and through prayer. What did Paul desire? In 1 Cor. 2:2 he states, "I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Christ and Him crucified." Let that be our prayer today as we love and minister to those to whom we have been entrusted with, and let the Lord deal with us graciously, and not as he ought.