Honour!

Honour!

Ephesians 6:2-3 KJV

[2] Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; [3] that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.

There is something amazing about God's word, and it is the fact that it transcends generations and dispensations. You can apply God's Word to any situation or circumstance, and you can be sure that the Word will have a word to say about the situation. Today's verse is addressing the relationship of parents and children. We may apply this to spiritual fathers and mothers, but for the purpose of this devotion, we will be focusing on biological parents. If God did not count parents as important, He would find another way for the human race to procreate. In His wisdom, He made it so that human life could only be propagated by the union of a man and a woman. Indeed, the world may teach its many doctrines and push its own agenda, but nothing the world offers can negate divine principles. It pleased God so to do, and if my life will make sense, it has to find its meaning in and through the One who ordained the family. Please do not settle for the lies of the devil or the agenda of the world; these will never end well for the adherents. 

It is also amazing that the earthly family life follows the template of the practices in God's kingdom. God calls us our heavenly Father, and He is one who is never tired, sleepy or unavailable. His relationship with us, mere mortals, and quite weak too, is the perfect example of how He wants me to relate with my earthly parents. There is nothing that my heavenly Father will keep from me, if He knows that I need it, and it is time for me to have it. An earthly father is the same, and would not deny an obedient child whatever he or she needs, as long as the timing is right and the application and usage will have the right impact. This is why a father does not give stones to a child who asks for bread. It is not a wonder that the most popular prayer in the bible starts with an acknowledgement of God as our Father, and everything else flows from that. I make bold to say that a relationship with the heavenly Father will really help me in my relationship with my earthly parents. Do I have the information and understanding of what God expects of me?

I honour my heavenly Father, and I am also required to honour my earthly father. I cannot pick and choose my reaction to my earthly father based on what he first gives or does for me. The verse above does not say that the parents must be worthy of the honour; it is human to find examples of terrible parents, but, just as God would not give up on me, so does God expect me to stay true to His Word by honouring parents. After all, if God did not love me unconditionally, where would I be? No matter how old we are now, we were once little children who needed help. If everyone had given up on us, we would not be alive. This understanding helps keep me focused on doing what is right, not because of what I will get in return, but the person who has asked me to do it. And He rewards obedience. Long life and prosperity are just a few dimensions of the blessings that I get from obedience. Claiming the promises without committing to the charge is committing fraud. God does not bless rebellion. Where do you stand? God's time of favour is here.