Loving Our Parents

I put this together for a girl's Bible study last year.  I just discussed this with some great friends yesterday and we had such a wonderful time sharing ways to serve our parents.  I pray that it encourages you to honor your parents all the days of your life. 

Becoming a Good Daughter

The sole purpose of everything we do should be to glorify God (John 15:8-10). If this is true (and it is), then our relationships should also bring glory to God. With this in mind, let’s talk about being a good daughter.

Before we can be a good daughter to our earthly parents, we must first be a good daughter to our heavenly Father. We are commanded to serve the Lord with every gift, talent and ability that He has given us with the intent of loving Him with our whole hearts, serving the brethren and advancing the Gospel to unbelievers. This must be our focus if we are to be a good daughter. 

Our fathers are our protectors. This means that everything we do should be under their oversight and guidance. We must submit to them by including them in our everyday decisions. I know personally, my father loves it when I come and ask him for permission to go somewhere rather than telling him I’m leaving. It solidifies his masculinity and builds him up rather than tearing him down by assuming that he will let me do as I please regardless of his opinion. We must also protect our fathers’ reputations by being competent and therefore giving proof for our Godly raising. If we are asked something about our faith and can only reply, “I don’t know. I’ll have to ask my dad about that,” then we are not exemplifying Godly daughters. We must dig into the Word ourselves and learn from our fathers how to articulate our beliefs with Biblical back-up.  Here are some practical ways to be a help to your father: know his vision, be available to him, don’t wait to be told everything you need to do and don’t shy away from what he asks you to do if it’s unappealing to you. Talk to your father about the things of the Lord, pray for him, always be looking for ways to help him and you will be a daughter worth praising.

Each of our mother’s should be our “Titus 2 woman“. She should be the one that we spend the majority of our time with. She is the person that will have a great impact on the woman that we will become. Keep in mind when helping your father that your mother is his primary helpmeet.  Before doing something for your father, make sure that you are not usurping your mother’s role. Remember that your parents’ marriage is the most important relationship and the foundation of your home. Show your mom that you appreciate her. Get to know her. Honor her. Show her respect. She is just as important as your dad. Cultivate a relationship with her by sharing your heart and knowing hers, by blessing her through acts of service and obedience, by working with her to keep the house running smoothly, and by thanking God every single day for a mother who diligently leads you in his ways.

One of our goals should be to help the whole home run smoothly, not just focus in on one parent.  They are both so important. Remember God gave you the parents you have for a reason. He knew who you would need to help you grow. Whenever you start to think about how something your parents do drives you crazy, think about how God could be using that very thing to make you a more mature follower of Christ. You’ll come to find that God uses the strangest things to teach us the greatest truths. Ephesians 6:1-3

It all comes back to bringing glory to God. Glorify God by respecting your parents. Honor Him by honoring them (Exodus 20:12). Bless them as the Scripture directs and He will bless you (Deuteronomy 28:1-2). 

Concluding Scriptures: Mark 12:29-31, Ecclesiastes 12:13

Worldly or Godly? You decide.

August for me was a month of purging myself from worldly entertainment.  I was trying to focus solely on the things of God for just one month.  Sounds easy enough, right? It's not like I was going to do this forever.  At least that's what I thought at the time.  I'm not so sure anymore though.

If I claim that Christ has saved my soul and is living inside of me, shouldn't I always be about the will of the Father, just as He was when He walked on this earth?  We are commanded in Colossians 3:1-3 to, "Seek those things which are above where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.  For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God."  Do we then have an excuse to turn our minds off to God, and on to the world by watching, reading and listening to things that are completely contrary to God's holy standards?  I don't believe so.  If I am truly bought by the blood of Jesus then I am going to constantly be, "Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" (II Corinthians 10:5), not saturating myself in them.  I need to remember to invest my time in what truly matters, serving the Lord.  "Be not deceived, God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.  For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting" (Galations 6:7-8).  

I don't have this thought studied out completely yet, but I am studying it.  Not just glorifying God in movies, music and books, but in my speech, health, relationships, etc.  Submitting every area of life to the One who gave me that life to use for His pleasure and His glory.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Since when has respecting our parents become an occasional thing? Why do we only treat our parents the way we should on their birthdays, Mother's Day and Father's Day? I'm not just talking about others either, I'm talking about myself. So often I'll put on my to-do list, "Respect my parents", and then just kinda forget that I was going to do that today. But, if respecting parents is so important to God, should I not do my absolute best to show my parents respect, honor and love? Think about it............"Honour thy father and thy mother; that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee". The first commandment with a promise was about children honouring their parents. Does that not show it's utmost improtance in a clear enough light?

So, for practical application on how to respect our parents and show it.

1) How about starting by praying for them and letting them know that we are. It's much easier to be kinder to someone when you're continually lifting them up in prayer.

2) Next, try obeying them immediately. My parents have always taught me that, "Delayed obedience is the same as disobedience".

3) Finally, just do little things for them that you know makes them happy. For instance, my mother loves for her fire to be kept going at all times, so I'm going to do my best to keep it stoked for her. Maybe even put a log on it every now and then. I don't think it'll kill me, do you?

Well, now I'm all motivated and ready to go! May the Lord give us grace to obey His commandments with a ready heart and willing hands!