FAMILY LIFE AND RELATIONSHIP --- FINAL PART

FAMILY MEMBERS SHOULD HONOR ONE ANOTHER.
Then He returned to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them; and His mother stored all these things in her heart. -- Luke 2:51 This is the first time we are told that Yeshua was aware that He was YHVH’s Son. But even though He knew His Real Father, He did not reject His earthly parents. He went back to Nazareth with them and lived under their authority for another eighteen years. YHVH’s people should not despise human relationships or family responsibilities. If the Son of YHVH obeyed His human parents, how much more should we honour our family members! Don’t use commitment to YHVH’s work to justify neglecting your family.

CHRISTIAN PARENTS CAN PASS ON THEIR FAITH TO THEIR CHILDREN.
Paul and Silas went first to Derbe and then on to Lystra. There they met Timothy, a young disciple whose mother was a Jewish believer, but whose father was a Greek. -- Acts 16:1. Timothy is the first second-generation believer mentioned in the New Testament. His mother, Eunice, and grandmother, Lois -- 2 Timothy 1:5 -- had become believers and had faithfully influenced him for Elohim. Although Timothy’s father apparently was not a believer, the faithfulness of his mother and grandmother prevailed. Never underestimate the far-reaching consequences of raising one small child to love Elohim.

YHVH’S COMMANDS APPLY TO BOTH PARENTS AND CHILDREN.
Honour your father and mother. This is the first of the Ten Commandments that ends with a promise. --- Ephesians 6:2 If our faith in Moshiach is real, it will usually prove itself at home, in our relationships with those who know us best. Children and parents have a responsibility to each other. Children should honour their parents even if the parents are demanding and unfair. Parents should gently care for their children, even if the children are disobedient and unpleasant. Ideally, of course, believing parents and believing children will relate to each other with thoughtfulness and love. This will happen if both parents and children put the others’ interests above their own - that is, if they submit to one another.

CHILDREN HAVE IMPORTANT ELOHIM-GIVEN RESPONSIBILITIES WITHIN THE FAMILY.
There is a difference between obeying and honouring. To obey means to do as one is told; to honour means to respect and love. Children are not Commanded to disobey YHVH in obeying their parents. Adult children are not asked to be subservient to domineering parents. Children are to obey while under their parents’ care, but the responsibility to honour parents is for life. Some societies honour their elders. They respect their wisdom, defer to their authority, and pay attention to their comfort and happiness. This is how believers in Yeshua should act. Where elders are respected, long life is a blessing, not a burden to them.

PARENTS ARE NOT TO TAKE UNFAIR ADVANTAGE OF THEIR AUTHORITY.
The purpose of parental discipline is to help children grow, not to exasperate and provoke them to anger or discouragement -- see also Colossians 3:21. Parenting is not easy - it takes lots of patience to raise children in a loving, Moshiach-honouring manner. But frustration and anger should not be causes for discipline. Instead, parents should act in love, treating their children as Yeshua treats the people He loves. This is vital to children’s development and to their understanding of what Moshiach is like.

OUR SPIRITUAL FAMILY

HOW DO HUMAN FAMILIES EXEMPLIFY SPIRITUAL RELATIONSHIPS?

THOSE WHO SHARE THE SAME SPIRITUAL FATHER ARE RELATED TO EACH OTHER.
Anyone who does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother! -- Matthew 12:50
Yeshua was not denying His responsibility to His earthly family. On the contrary, He criticized the religious leaders for not following the Old Testament Command to honour their parents -- 15:1-9. He provided for His mother’s security as He hung on the cross -- John 19:25-27. His mother and brothers were present in the upper room -- Acts 1:14. Instead, Yeshua was pointing out that spiritual relationships are as binding as physical ones, and He was paving the way for a new community of believers - our spiritual family.

MEMBERSHIP IN YHVH’S FAMILY IS MARKED BY HEARTFELT COMMITMENT.
No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with YHVH. And true circumcision is not a cutting of the body, but a change of heart produced by YHVH’s Ruach. Whoever has that kind of change seeks praise from YHVH, not from people. -- Romans 2:29 To be a Jew meant you were in YHVH’s family, an heir to all His promises. Yet Paul made it clear that membership in YHVH’s family is based on internal, not external, qualities. All whose hearts are right with YHVH are real Jews - that is, part of YHVH’s family -- see also Galatians 3:7. Attending church or being baptized, confirmed, or accepted for membership are not enough, just as circumcision was not enough for the Jews. YHVH desires our devotion and obedience. -- See also Deuteronomy 10:16; Jeremiah 4:4 for more on circumcising the heart.

YHVH’S FAMILY IS ETERNAL.
When I think of the wisdom and scope of YHVH’s plan, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. -- Ephesians 3:14-15 The family of YHVH includes all who have believed in Him in the past, all who believe in the present, and all who will believe in the future. We are all a family because we have the same Father. He is the Source of all Creation, the rightful owner of everything. YHVH promises His Love and Power to His family, the Church -- 3:16-21. If we want to receive YHVH’s Blessings, it is important that we stay in contact with other believers in the body of Moshiach.