As a father and husband I am learning more and more that next to my relationship with God, my family really is the most important responsibility in my life. So often though other priorities creep in and take over what should be first in my life.......


It seems to me that one of the highest responsibilities a Christian has, is to prioritise family relationships.

In 1 Timothy 3:4-5 Paul says about a church leaders resposibility: "He must manage his own family well, having children who respect and obey him. 5 For if a man cannot manage his own household, how can he take care of God’s church?"

So we see how important our families are. Family must come before any church/work responsibilities "For if a man cannot manage his own household, how can he take care of God's church?"

We have resposibilities to our parents too. In Exodus 20:12 as part of the 10 commandments we read "12 Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you."

PART OF GOD'S FAMILY!
Let me be clear though, I'm not just talking about the responsibilities of being married or having children. As believers in Jesus, we are adopted as God's children and we are ALL part of the Family Of God! What a wonderful truth that is!!

In Ephesians 1:5 Paul says "God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure."

We see here that God wanted to bring us into his family through Jesus. God gets great pleasure in seeing us all becoming part of His own family!

So, now we also have responsibilities to our new family.

Do good to everyone:

In Galatians 6:10 Paul says "Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith(or "believers" NIV)."

We are to do good to everyone, but especially to those in the family of believers. It is important to God that relationships are good between believers and that we all make an effort to care for one another.

Love one another:
In John 13:34-35 Jesus said "34 So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. 35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”Our love for each other is extremely important to God. We are commanded to Love each other in the same way that He has loved us. With the help of God's Holy Spirit and a willingness on our part, to obey God, we find that God gives us a new love for others. It is also the sign to the rest of the world that we are followers of Jesus "35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”

Don't keep on sinning:

In 1 John 3:9 we read "Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God."

As children of God, we have a responsibility to not carry on sinning. We need to obey our Father God and live our lives in a way that pleases Him.

We worship God when we obey His commands in our daily lives.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

God bless you!

Graeme