Wednesday, January 7, 2009

household

[Note: Sorry for the absence. Busy life, you know. I'm sure yours is, too, so I assume all my readers will understand...both of you.]

"And they said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household."" Acts 16:31

Ah, an oft misunderstood verse...by me, that is, in my young and dumb days of youth. I always wondered how on earth my "household" could be saved if I'm the one doing the believing - I mean, doesn't each person have to believe in order to be saved? Well, to answer myself, yes; and actually that's what the verse is saying. I will be saved if I believe in (have faith in, put my trust in) the Lord Jesus, and my household (my family) will be saved if they also believe.

Of course, the fact is that my household stands a much better chance of having their own faith if I keep mine. They say that a person has a difficult time thinking more of God than they think of their own father; if they have (or had, as the case may be) a bad relationship with their dad, they might have a harder time relating to God. Of course anyone can overcome that stumbling block and I have good friends who had terrible fathers but who now love God with all their heart. But still, it's an awesome responsibility to be a father when you look at it that way - to be, in a sense, God's representative to your family.

I really love my kids. Oh, they're fully grown now, adultish in every way and on their own with families of their own - as I've mentioned before, my own beloved first-born son and equally beloved daughter-in-law are expecting my first grandchild sometime next month. And I am blessed in the extreme to know that both of my offspring are believers in their own right and that I am fully confident of their salvation. Don't get me wrong, I take no credit for it at all, but I am please with the idea that I was able to demonstrate God's grace to them in my own small way while the kids were my responsibility...to be God's representative to them. I was far from ideal as a father, but I think I did okay.

You might say that I believed in the Lord Jesus, and my household was saved.

Lord Jesus, thank you for your salvation and for blessing me beyond anything I ever deserve. Walk with my kids, Lord, and keep them in your care, especially now that they aren't my responsibility anymore. Walk with them and help them be your representatives to their own families so that their kids will be saved...especially that little one still hiding inside his mom's womb right now, but also for all those to follow (and let there be many!).

3 comments:

Jen - Queen of Poo said...

Cool! That means I'm off the hook since I'm a mom, right?

Eh, I didn't think I could get away with it, but I like to try and push the envelope. ;-)

R said...

It is very important that the head of the household displays God's grace and love---a sure help with the salvation of his children!

God does do all the deciding but God does honor those who obey Him and love Him.

Good stuff.

Daily Mercies said...

~Jen, Ha! No such luck, sister. Mothers are just female fathers, sorta kinda, and represent God to the family just as much. But that's a good thing! There's no hook! :-)

R, Thanks.

And just for the record, from everything I know about you two, God has to be smiling when he sees your families.