THREE WORDS FOR A HAPPY HOME

SHEPHERD TO SHEEP 

THREE WORDS FOR A HAPPY HOME 

A happy home.  It’s what we all want.  To not only get along, but to really love and support each other.  Our families can be the source of our greatest stress or the basis for our greatest joy.  It all depends if our home is happy or not.  So how can our homes be more joyful and content?  What can families do to come together in unity?  Well, here’s three words for a happy home.  They might not be magical words, but they sure are practical.  And there’s one word for each member to make it easy.  With God’s help we can work toward greater peace and happiness right under our roof! 

LOVE:  This is for the husbands.  (Eph 5:25) Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her.  Paul said that a man was to love his wife and lay down his life for her as Christ did the church.  In other words, a man is to sacrifice for his wife to show her how much he loves her.  (John 15:13) Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.  A wife loves it when her man goes the extra mile to show his love.  The man went out of his way.  He gave up something.  She feels valued as a result and therefore has no problem coming up under his authority.   

SUBMIT: This is for the wives.  (Eph 5:22) Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.  For some women in our society this is a dirty word.  They feel it is a ticket to being a door mat and to being taken advantage of.  But it is a Biblical word and a Biblical principle.  Submit means to come up under your husband’s authority and to do it as unto the Lord.  It doesn’t mean he is above you.  It means you are both equal but one must be the leader, and God has chosen the man (1 Cor 11:3).  God the Father and God the Son are equal but the Son submits to the Father as a pattern for us (1 Cor 11:3).

OBEY: This is for the children.  (Eph 6:1) Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.  Children are to honor their father and mother as it says in the Ten Commandments (Deu 5:16).  A promise is attached to it:  …“that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.” (Eph 6:3)  What child wouldn’t want that?  It is natural for children to rebel because they are sinners.  But God makes it possible for children to choose the good and to do what their parents want them to do.  It might not be easy at times but the reward outweighs the difficulty! 

THREE WORDS FOR A HAPPY HOME.  Love, submit, obey.  If each person in the family would do their part, think of the family atmosphere you would come home to.  The husband is displaying sacrificial love for his wife.  The wife in turn submits to her husband’s loving authority.  The children are obeying their parents.  Harmony…melody…symphony!  God lays it all out in His Word and all we have to do is simply do our part.  Even if one person did their share the family would be that much happier.  So why wait for someone else?  Get some sunshine in that household and let’s let our homes shine for Christ!   

Louie