BYM ONLINE DESK November 2019 Blessing Emagazine | Page 3

When we have a pleasant climate, we will be able to
accept and respect our family members.
The life of Haanah and Elkanah (I Sam 1:8)
emulates a family life that was pleasant like spring.
Though situations may be adverse, it is up to us to
make it stormy or breezy in our families. When
Hannah was devastated, Elkanah strengthened her
with his loving words and made sure that his
family's milieu was not affected.
Whatever may be the prevailing climate at our
home, let us prayerfully look to the Lord and work
out the strategies He teaches us. Surely, the Lord
will change the climate.
2. Building Family Together
It is the duty of both the husband and the wife
to build their homes (family) together watchfully. In
Acts 10, we meet Cornelius who left no stone
unturned to build his family. Families are not
established over a wave of the wand. Rather it
involves diligence. We spend so much of time and
energy to build a house of bricks. How much more
should we spend, in fact, invest, to build a home on
right values. Isn't this an area in which we stumble
many times? Love alone is the force that binds us
together. Each member of the family should
meditate and become a living version of 1
Corinthians 13. Convert every situation as an
opportunity to express your love to your family
members. Gift them on their special days; go for a
family vacation. Be constantly on vigil to build your
family. Love is the foundation on which family
relationships are built.
A youth who has a high regard for his parents
once remarked with glee “Our family is built on a
set of golden rules”. Family should be the first
institution to teach good values and choices.
Your children will not excel just because you
have admitted them in one of the best schools in
town. It is the parents' responsibility to inculcate
values like honesty, cleanliness, leading a simple
November 2019 | www.bymonline.org | Page 3
life style, etc., in them. This is what the wise King
Solomon says in Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in
the way he should go; even when he is old he will not
depart from it”. We should never have a negative
influence on our kids. Adopting shortcuts to acquire
what we need, giving and taking bribes and the like
are to be shunned.
“We all falter in many ways” writes the
Apostle James (Jam 3:2). Let us learn to trust our
spouse and our children. Let our lives radiate our
trustworthiness. Doubts are disastrous. Learn to
accept one another as they are. Get rid of anger,
malice and bitterness. Above all, forgive one
another. Let us follow our Lord Jesus Christ who is
the champion in forgiving. Forgiveness is a
speciality in a family that is watchful.
3. Upbringing the Kids in the fear of the
Lord
“By faith Noah, when worried about things
not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his
family. By his faith, he condemned the world and
became few of the righteousness that comes by
faith” (Heb 11:7).
This verse clearly portrays the efforts taken by
Noah to lead his family to salvation. Injustice,
impurity, indulgence, were rampant during his days.
However, he protected his sons from all such evil.
Christians families should not be corrupted by the
world around them. There is a great difference
between Noah and Lot in the way they raised their
kids. When we analyse what happened during the
later days, the difference can be clearly noticed.
When we invest so much for our children's
education and future, we should never forget to
teach them what is written in Deut 6:6-12, “And
these words that I command you today shall be on
your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your
children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your
house, and when you walk by the way, and when you
lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as
a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets