LIKE THE LORD, HONOUR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER

FAMILY FRIDAY

And he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man – Luke 2:51-52

As disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, we’re called not only to believe in Him but also to follow His example. When the Lord Jesus Christ was a child, even though He was the Son of God, He subjected Himself to Joseph and Mary as His parents. In other words, He obeyed their instructions and allowed them to parent Him in every way.

Many today, because of their education and wealth, look down on their parents. They don’t honour them because they disobey them routinely. They thumb their nose at their parents’ guidance and counsel since they see them as old, has-beens, irrelevant and ignorant. But that’s a mistake. That’s why they’re not growing in wisdom and stature. They remain foolish and small in spite of their education, learning and wealth. That’s why things aren’t going well for them. And that’s why some of them even die young.

There’s a mystery in honouring one’s earthly parents. It carries a tremendous blessing in this life and the life to come. Ephesians 6:1-3 says, ‘Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; That it may go well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.’ When we honour our parents, things go well with us and we live long on the earth. And like the Lord Jesus Christ, we’ll grow in both wisdom and stature. Glory to God!

PRAYER

Father in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, help me to honour my father and my mother in the Lord so that things may go well with me. May I, like the Lord Jesus Christ, grow in wisdom and stature because of it. Amen.