“GOD’S DESIGN FOR THE FAMILY”

19 “Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Matthew 19:19

Today, people and cultures have different views of the family. Some consider family as more than just their biological kin, consisting of a group of friends they can laugh and cry with. Others believe family is about caring for one another and wanting you to grow and flourish. Still, others say family is whoever they can depend on for support, regardless of blood connection.

Let’s continue our study of Jesus’ conversation with a rich young ruler. In our previous blog, we discussed the four negative commands. Today, we’ll examine the two positives: honoring parents and loving others.

Jesus points out that the law promotes honoring parents, making it clear that it was God who established the foundation for the family.

The Bible says that a family is founded by a husband and a wife who love one another and their children. Each family member has a specific role to play, and we should respect those roles. The father needs to be a selfless leader and protector of the family, while the mother is a supportive partner in everything. On the other hand, children should listen to their father who gave them life, and honor their mother to her old age (Proverbs 23:22). In a nutshell, this is the biblical view of family.

Jesus adds another commandment not found in the Moral Law: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” This command is a direct quote from Leviticus 19:18. True righteousness is shown by demonstrating selfless love (agape) to others. The term “neighbor” comes from the Greek “plesion,” which means “any other man irrespective of nation or religion with whom we live or whom we chance to meet.” In other words, a neighbor isn’t just someone who lives next to you; he or she is every other human being.

The Bible teaches that we should love others and regard them as people made in God’s image. As such, we are to look out for their best interests, even at the expense of our comfort and security. In fact, Paul even argues that we should consider others more important than ourselves.

3 “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.”

Philippians 2:3

We live in a day and age where people would rather preserve their comfort and convenience than help those around them. Everybody strives to be number one—sometimes, to the detriment of those who can’t defend themselves. This is not God’s will for you and me.

Instead, God’s word demands we have a self-denying, self-sacrificing attitude toward others, just like how the Lord Jesus lived not for Himself but for people.

Pursue the Savior today!

Photo by Natalya Zaritskaya on Unsplash