Mom and Dad
It's such a simple command. It's such a deep word.
Exodus 20:12 (ESV) “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
God includes the honor of Father and Mother in the top 10 commands of the Bible. There should be no doubt that God takes this institution seriously. The marriage of a man and woman and the procreation of children deserves honor from all people, but it starts in the home with the children.
Why does God command honor for parents? Because a parent's job reflects God's endeavor. He is our Father in heaven. Jesus described himself as a "Hen who longed to gather her chicks under her wings." (Matthew 23:37). God's parental role is exhibited throughout the Scriptures starting with Adam who is termed the "son of God" in Luke's genealogy.
Why does God command that honor for parents start with the children? Because God knows that children will have the biggest challenge in this department. It is the innate sinful nature that causes us to naturally disobey and push the boundaries of our parents. The honor for one's parents will be the commandment that exposes our sinfulness throughout our lives. We do not naturally obey them and we must be trained for decades in that department. Then there are the parent's sins to deal with. Depending on the ways in which we experience their trespasses in our upbringing, we will be tempted to forego this command with probable cause. But with God there is none. Authority is established by God (Romans 13) and the first place we are to experience authority is in the home.
Is it any wonder that as the family broke down in the West since the sexual revolution that great tragedies have befallen our culture in numerous ways? When we lose a sense of authority and submission to our parents we fail to learn the value of authority and submission throughout our lives. The human being is not autonomous. No matter how much we like to demand our own way and seek to live out our own determinations, we cannot be free from authority. And so something will be in charge to our own demise. God has determined honor is to be shown with those who did the hard work of training us from our earliest moments so that we rightly direct honor in our lives. Those who sacrifice for us, those who live selflessly for us (as parents should), are to have our honor so that those who seek to rob from us (as the Prodigal son learned) will not get it!
This command is of course the only one with a promise. It is a promise to live LONG in the land. The nation that has homes filled with mom and dad and their biological or adoptive children will be a land filled with prosperity and longevity. The nation that disregards this command does so at its own peril.
Of course this command will strike many of us deeply in the heart. For many have not had the best examples of parents in our lives. But here again is an opportunity for discipleship and training against our sinful nature. We are drawn to blame and excuse our bad habits on others, starting first of all with mom and dad. God's command does not carry an asterisk allowing for dishonor in the case of notable exceptions. So we also learn through this command that blame and excusing our behaviors does NOTHING to change things. Only repentance and humility before God will lead to true transformation. We may find places in our hearts where we need to repent and forgive mom and dad. We may find other places where we need to repent and THANK mom and dad.
Oh the depths of this command. It strikes the heart and mind on so many levels. No wonder it is the first of the second table of commands concerning our interpersonal relationships. For here the Gospel meets us all as the worst of sinners and drives us to the Cross to find the gift of the ultimate Father awaiting us.
Amen.
Exodus 20:12 (ESV) “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
God includes the honor of Father and Mother in the top 10 commands of the Bible. There should be no doubt that God takes this institution seriously. The marriage of a man and woman and the procreation of children deserves honor from all people, but it starts in the home with the children.
Why does God command honor for parents? Because a parent's job reflects God's endeavor. He is our Father in heaven. Jesus described himself as a "Hen who longed to gather her chicks under her wings." (Matthew 23:37). God's parental role is exhibited throughout the Scriptures starting with Adam who is termed the "son of God" in Luke's genealogy.
Why does God command that honor for parents start with the children? Because God knows that children will have the biggest challenge in this department. It is the innate sinful nature that causes us to naturally disobey and push the boundaries of our parents. The honor for one's parents will be the commandment that exposes our sinfulness throughout our lives. We do not naturally obey them and we must be trained for decades in that department. Then there are the parent's sins to deal with. Depending on the ways in which we experience their trespasses in our upbringing, we will be tempted to forego this command with probable cause. But with God there is none. Authority is established by God (Romans 13) and the first place we are to experience authority is in the home.
Is it any wonder that as the family broke down in the West since the sexual revolution that great tragedies have befallen our culture in numerous ways? When we lose a sense of authority and submission to our parents we fail to learn the value of authority and submission throughout our lives. The human being is not autonomous. No matter how much we like to demand our own way and seek to live out our own determinations, we cannot be free from authority. And so something will be in charge to our own demise. God has determined honor is to be shown with those who did the hard work of training us from our earliest moments so that we rightly direct honor in our lives. Those who sacrifice for us, those who live selflessly for us (as parents should), are to have our honor so that those who seek to rob from us (as the Prodigal son learned) will not get it!
This command is of course the only one with a promise. It is a promise to live LONG in the land. The nation that has homes filled with mom and dad and their biological or adoptive children will be a land filled with prosperity and longevity. The nation that disregards this command does so at its own peril.
Of course this command will strike many of us deeply in the heart. For many have not had the best examples of parents in our lives. But here again is an opportunity for discipleship and training against our sinful nature. We are drawn to blame and excuse our bad habits on others, starting first of all with mom and dad. God's command does not carry an asterisk allowing for dishonor in the case of notable exceptions. So we also learn through this command that blame and excusing our behaviors does NOTHING to change things. Only repentance and humility before God will lead to true transformation. We may find places in our hearts where we need to repent and forgive mom and dad. We may find other places where we need to repent and THANK mom and dad.
Oh the depths of this command. It strikes the heart and mind on so many levels. No wonder it is the first of the second table of commands concerning our interpersonal relationships. For here the Gospel meets us all as the worst of sinners and drives us to the Cross to find the gift of the ultimate Father awaiting us.
Amen.
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