The family is God’s plan, the fundamental building block of society, and the source of ninety percent of our joy and misery. This Sunday we will begin a three part sermon series we will call “The Family Crucible.” The topic of the first sermon is family structure.
The family structure is found in the story of creation. God’s design for the family starts with the institution of marriage. What is especially interesting, in this skeptical age, is that what the Bible recommends for a family structure is what the latest research reinforces to be the healthiest environment for raising children. All the research shows that children need a mother and a father and that the children do better in school, avoid trouble, and have greater success in life if they are raised in a stable, two parent home.
Along with the structure of the family, we need to consider the quality of the relationships within the family. Some use the term “complementarian” to describe the biblical model for family. A complementarian view of family says that everyone in the family is created in the image of God and is of equal value, but not everyone has the same role. The biblical, complementarian model of family tends to produce the longest lasting and happiest marriages.
Families are most likely to thrive when the members of the family are, in a phrase from the Bible, “in the Lord.” People who are in the Lord understand that the submission and sacrifice that make for a healthy family are actually manifestations of each person submitting their will to Jesus, not one another. Families do best when everyone in the family is “in the Lord.”
This Sunday we will look at Colossians 3:18-4:1 and discuss what it says about family structure.