MARRIAGE, FAMILY AND PARENTING (2)

“So then they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate” – Mark 10: 8a-9

GOD is the Author, Foundation, and Sustainer of Impactful MARRIAGE, FAMILY, and PARENTING: “But from the beginning of the creation, God ‘made them male and female. For this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’; so then they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate” (Mk.10: 6-9). This derives from Genesis 2:24: “Therefore a MAN shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”  To properly understand the Family requires a clear view of Marriage as its foundation.

In yesterday’s devotional meditation, we noted how scriptures present the lifetime union of a man and a woman in marriage as the footing of Family (Gen.2:.21-24). The term family is also used in a broader sense to include close relatives such as grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins; that is, the “extended family.” As the first couple on earth, Adam and Eve formed the first family from which all humankind derived (Gen.1:26). From inception, God blessed and encouraged families, commanding the two to “be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it” (Gen.1:28). The Family institution is for both the purposes of creation and redemption.

The notion of Family as a God-ordained foundational model, is a prevalent in the Bible. All other relationships are to stem from the Family as God’s building block of society! In the Old Testament, emphasis was on ties of kinship, extending from generation to generation and from the immediate family to the tribe. There is also accent on the universal human Family, in that all human beings descended from Adam, and based on the promise that in Abraham all the families on earth would be blessed (Gen.12:3). Even the Messiah was born in human flesh through a family, to live and die for the people He Himself had created (Mt.1:16-20; Rom.1:3-4).

Deriving from Marriage and Family is the phenomenon of Parenting. Children are blessings from the Lord: “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward” (Psa.127:3). The Family was the prime means of passing on God’s truth and covenant obligations to successive generations of His people (Dt.6:6-7). Unique blessings stemming from the revelations of Marriage, Family, and Parenting include: companionship, partnership, and powerful support systems; personal and mutual growth; unconditional love, belonging, and security; a bridge between past and future; sense of purpose; and enhanced health and longevity.

In essence, insights into marriage, family, and parenting, while strengthening bonds and connecting generations through shared traditions and memories, provide the unique opportunity to chart paths to positive and eternally impactful legacies.