24: I Like Us
Gratefulness and contentment are decidedly Christian virtues. They are rooted in an understanding of God’s purposes, as well as His wisdom, love, and sovereignty. At a family camp last summer, I had a mom recount to me how her husband would come home when the children were not behaving and the house was a mess, and stand there with a big grin on his face surveying the disarray and say, “I like us!”
As we look at our family and consider our own situation, can we say, “I like us?” I believe it is in this same spirit that the psalmist says, The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me. Psalms 16:6 NASB
God’s Purposes
God has designed our families to sanctify us. The primary purpose of marriage is not to be happy, but to become holy. Our children were given to bring us to maturity. Our children need us to disciple them, and we need them to be discipled. This divine dynamic was designed by our all-knowing, all-loving, all-wise Father, whose will is our sanctification.
For this is the will of God, your sanctification. 1 Thessalonians 4:3
God’s Wisdom
Living 24/7 with a spouse from a different planet, with children of all ages, personalities, learning styles, and temperaments creates a unique opportunity for spiritual growth. As we learn to lay our lives down for each other, we are becoming more like our savior.
But he knows the way that I take; When he has tried me, I shall come forth as gold. Job 23:10
For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many. Mark 10:45
God’s Love
God is love, God is good. All His ways and His will are manifestations of His great love.
The Rock! His work is perfect, for all His ways are just; a God of faithfulness and without injustice, righteous and upright is He. Deuteronomy 32:4
The LORD is gracious and merciful; slow to anger and great in lovingkindness. The LORD is righteous in all His ways, and kind in all His deeds. Psalms 145:8 & 17
God’s Sovereignty
God uniquely formed each one of us. He knows us. He created us. All of Psalm 139 is wonderful, and I have chosen a few representative verses. O LORD, you have searched me and known me! You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it. Psalms 139:1, 5, & 6
I am convinced He not only formed us, but he formed our families as well. He chose our siblings, our parents, and our spouses. A friend once exclaimed to me, “I could never homeschool my son, he is too much like me!” That is just the point. In discipling his son, the father was confronted with his own blind spots. Only God could design such an effective means to reveal our needs and motivate us to change.
As we meditate on the overarching plan of God, we begin to grasp the beauty and complexity of the divine family dynamic.
By receiving and experiencing God’s grace daily, we have the power to live together in such a way that each lives for the other, and all live for Christ.
With a renewed appreciation for the Christian home which God created by divine fiat, we join with our brother in declaring, “I like us. I am content with us, I appreciate God’s plan for our home, and am thankful.”
God bless you each this resurrection season,
Steve