Currently in major league baseball the race to the post season is on. Baseball is all about getting home. When you cross home plate, you score a run for your team. At home, you are safe!
Our homes (the ones we share with our families) should be a safe place. It should be a place where we feel welcomed, loved, and accepted. At home we can rest and let our guard down.
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Parents, you are the leaders of your family. You may be a leader in business, church or another organization, but your most important role as a leader is in YOUR home!
Back to baseball: You start from home plate, and when you hit the ball you must run out onto the base path. When you are on the base path, you are open to attack, you may be tagged out and you’re forced to run whenever the ball is hit. You must be on your toes at every moment.
It is not until you get home that you can relax rest and breathe, because now you are safe.
The home is the most important place on earth. God designed the home as the perfect place for marriage and raising kids. It is in the context of the home that the most good and bad can take place.
No wonder the enemy is looking to redefine and chip away at the integrity of the home.
Think about it…
Abuse in the home is always more damaging
Neglect in the home is always more devastating
Name calling and criticism always hurts more in the family
Why? Because it’s not supposed to be that way!
The home is also the place where the greatest good can happen. The home is the greatest place for spiritual development!
Deuteronomy 6:5-7 says “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”
This is all about daily life:
When you’re hanging around at home
When you drive around
When you’re getting ready for bed
When you get up in the morning
This is living life with your children and exercising your influence on them. This is a command for every parent, to lead their children well.
Parents do this by taking the primary responsibility for their children’s physical, social and spiritual development. You do this by teaching your children the truth, telling stories and talking about your faith.
Here are 5 things you can start doing today:
- Pray FOR your kids
- Pray WITH your kids
- Read the Bible together (maybe before or after a meal)
- Talk about what you are learning
- Do a service project together
Of the list above, what are you working on?
Did I leave anything off the list above?
