Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Fighting for your Family

As God continues to place emphasis upon The Family, we must recognize that the Family in general and our own Families in particular, are not something that we can afford to ignore and neglect. We live in a day where many members of our society are so steeped in individualism that they feel Family is no longer a prerequisite for their own personal survival and subsistence. To this I would beg to differ. God has given all of us, a Family; and whether we believe it or not, we all have the responsibility to attend to our Families. Some of us have situations where we've had "falling outs" in our Family. Disagreements and arguments have placed a wedge between us and some of those who represent our next of kin. Some of us have grown complacent and seemingly content with allowing these Family Relationships to simply fall by the way side as we call ourselves "going on with our lives". But let me say for the record that this is not the Will of God. We are at a point in time where we now have to Fight for our Family.

Satan is busy basically "busting up" the Family. The Devil is a master at creating divisiveness and discord, particularly amongst family members. However, we have to take a stand against this Satanic assault and Fight for our Families. We have to make a decree and declare, "Satan, you are not going to break up my family, you are not going to create division, you are not going to create discord; I decree there will be love in my Family, I decree that there will be Peace in my Family, I decree that there will be Unity in my Family. And I decree it, in the Name of Jesus". This is a Stand for the Family that God is calling all of us to make. We're not going to be able to be casual and laid back and see our families come back together and ultimately stay together. We're going to have to be aggressive, we're going to have to be assertive and we're going to have to be willing to Fight for our Family.

The first weapon we're going to have to use in Fighting for our Families is the weapon of Understanding. As loving family members, we've got to stop expecting people to see things from "our perspective". You and your father are not the same. You and your mother are not the same. You and your spouse are not the same. So if your family is "different" from you, why are you expecting them to think like you and act like you and respond like you? This is not of God. We must exercise Understanding. We have to Understand where our family members are coming from. It doesn't mean you have to "agree" with where they're coming from. But in Understanding their particular vantage point, it will allow you to reach and relate to them where they are, not from where you "think" they should be, and allow peace and mutuality to function in the relationship.

Then we have to Fight for our Family with the weapon of Forgiveness. Saints, too many Families are broken apart and relationships estranged because of a lack of Forgiveness. The pain incurred from a loved one who's a member of your Family, has a way of hurting more than from someone who is not your blood. I don't understand it, but Family members have a way of "getting under your skin" and "ticking you off" more so than anybody else. The mistake we make when we are hurt or injured by Family is to let it linger and fester. We must, and I repeat must learn to Forgive. Let it go. Forgive. At the end of the day they're still your Parents, they're still your children, they're still your siblings, they're still your spouse. Forgive. And even if they represent another part of the Family, Forgive. Remember, we are to forgive others as God for Christ's sake hath Forgiven us (Ephesians 4). Let's not continue to let these grudges and disagreements keep us away from our loved ones and kindred. It's time for us to Fight for our Family.

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