God's School of Grace
Theme of the Week: Why Do We Fail Those We Love?
Friday, December 5, 2008
 1 of 1
Key Bible Verse: The man who finds a wife finds a treasure … The father of godly children has cause for joy (Proverbs 18:22; 23:24). Bonus Reading: Psalm 128:1–6
One reason we can act like grizzlies at home and teddy bears everywhere else is because we fail to appreciate the treasures we have in our families. Our families are familiar (notice the similarity of those two words), and we tend to under-appreciate the familiar. We also carry a basic presupposition that our family will always love and forgive us, no matter what. It's okay to appreciate this grace extended to us, but we often abuse it, taking our family members for granted.
We must realize that our families are treasures—precious gifts given to us by God. God has called us to care for and love our neighbors; we shouldn't forget that family is our closest neighbor. We share something much more intimate than the same street or community. We share the same flesh, the same heart … the same toilet.
Family, immediate and extended, is one of God's greatest gifts. And a gift doesn't have to be perfect. In fact, the imperfectness of this gift makes it God's greatest tool to transform us into what he wants us to be. It's where we learn most readily to extend grace. This is the main story of all the families in the Bible.
—Glenn Stanton in My Crazy Imperfect Christian Family
My Response:I think a lesson God wants to teach me through my family is …
Thought to Apply: When you see families act horribly to one another and then God still reaches out to accomplish his will through them, you realize that the wonder of his goodness is overwhelming.—KEVIN (a S. Carolina friend of Glenn)
My Crazy Imperfect Christian Family (NavPress, 2004) by permission. All rights reserved by the copyright holder and/or the publisher.
Copyright © 2008 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity magazine. Click here for reprint information on Men of Integrity. 1 of 1
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You've called me, Lord, to the demanding discipleship of family. Empower me to worthily represent you there.
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