Sermon for the Road: Blessed Family

When is a family considered “blessed”? Some people say, “If I am rich, if I can afford a luxurious lifestyle, my family will be blessed.” Yet others say, “My family is blessed if my kids are smart, beautiful and successful”. Nothing can be further from the truth. There have been countless stories of family feud among the rich and famous. Marriages of the elite and successful have broken down. Creature comforts, fame, beauty, success, and oh yes, wealth, are no guarantee for blessedness. Without the indispensable qualities of divine love, there can be no blessedness in the family.

What is divine love? The apostle Paul described it well in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7: Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, It is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Comparatively, human love, as we know it, is frail, conditional, inconsistent, and limited. We tend to love only those who are lovable and who meet our expectation. It is difficult to love those who fail us or who are simply not lovable. This kind of love stems from self-centredness, is nothing like the real thing, and leads to nowhere.

If we will only let God’s divine love take the place of our kind of love, many family conflicts can be resolved in a healthy manner. We will not easily get upset with a family member who fails to meet our expectations. After all, how often do we meet God’s expectations of us? Along with divine love come plenty of graciousness and an endless capacity to forgive. Self-centredness gives way to putting others before self.

Divine love also enables us to have a deep reverence for God lifting up His truth in the family. There is no room for evil to prevail in a family dedicated to the Lord. Instead, we will find care, concern, trust, mutual respect, and acceptance.

Commit your family to the Lord Jesus Christ today, and make Him the head of your household. In His presence, there is a fullness of joy. You will then experience the manifestation of His presence, power and glory in your family, and become what is truly a blessed family.

Pastor Sarah