Ephesians 6:1-9 NIV
1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.2 “Honor your father and mother”–which is the first commandment with a promise–3 “that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”
4 Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.
5 Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ.6 Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart.7 Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men,
8 because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.
9 And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.
Another section on respect and relationships. We are heading into February and the Valentines season. The Bible is the greatest guide we have for developing and enhancing our relationships. These scriptures today deal with some weighty matters beginning with the Parent/Child relationship. While there is no doubt that kids are much less respectful today it is also true that parents do less to teach and even earn respect in our day and time. After children are exhorted to honor their parents and given a tremendous promise of long life we see an exhortation to Father to train and instruct their children in the ways of the Lord. What would our world look like if the Dads would step up and become the spiritual leaders within their homes? Would this alone solve most of our relationship and crime issues? I for one believe it would. Today is a day without accountability or responsibility. A day when everyone seems to be a victim and no one wants to ever step up and take responsibility for their actions. If you Father a child you should provide for and care for that child, end of story! We live in a world where a relationship with the heavenly Father has been pushed to the back burner. If more young men and women were being taught the truth of God's Word and shown the love of Christ our world wouldn't look as it does. I would be able to watch the nightly news which I now avoid for all its negative and shocking content.
The final section of this passage speaks of servitude. The idea of serving was foreign to Jesus' disciples as it is to many today. They were shocked when He stopped and knelt down to wash their feet. He demonstrated what it meant to serve others and showed us the way. He told the disciples the greatest servant among them would be the most honorable in heaven. What a lesson for us to learn. We have become so busy and filled with our own lives and issues that we seem to have lost the concept of serving others. Servanthood is a command! Are you serving? Do you serve in your local church or just fill a pew? Do you look for opportunities to help others or just look the other way because you are too busy? I realize this is a hard word because it is for me. Jesus taught this with the story of the good Samaritan true love, God's love, leads us to serve! Do you have the love of Christ? Of course you do but are we walking in it?
Romans 5:5...because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. NIV
Blessings,
Pastor Larry
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