A Family that Praises God the Father with a Grateful Heart (1) (Colossians 3:18-21)

A Family that Praises God the Father

with a Grateful Heart (1)

 

  

 

[Colossians 3:18-21]

  

I wrote ten short phrases under the title "When I Think of Our Families": (1) We long for God's great grace and mercy, (2) We earnestly pray that God will grant the grace of salvation, (3) We ask that God humble all our family members through our pain and suffering, and help us rely solely on Him, (4) We hope that God will thoroughly break us down and soften our hearts, (5) We desire that God reveal our sins to us, leading us to recognize, confess, and seek forgiveness through the blood of Jesus Christ, (6) We pray that God give us the assurance of forgiveness and, by His great grace and love, enable us to forgive one another as He has forgiven us, (7) We wish for God to protect and watch over our children.  Especially, we earnestly desire that God soothe and heal the hearts of our wounded children, (8) We fervently pray that God would turn around the family crisis and grant us the grace to experience His great salvific love deeply, broadly, and abundantly, (9) We pray that God, who is the Lord of our family, would govern and rule over our household, protecting us from all evil forces and Satan, (10) We ask the Holy Spirit to bear the fruits of divine love more abundantly and to use us as conduits of God's love so that every member of our family can love one another with the Lord’s love.

 

In May 2023, I reflected on 2 Chronicles 20 under the title "Experiencing the Miracle of Prayer and Praise in the Family."  In 2 Chronicles 20, King Jehoshaphat of Judah was in an immensely difficult situation that seemed entirely ungrateful from a human perspective.  The immense crisis was that a vast army of Moabites, Ammonites, and some Meunites invaded Judah (vv. 1-2).  At that time, King Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord and proclaimed a fast for all Judah (v. 3).  Consequently, all the people of Judah gathered from every town in Jerusalem to seek help from the Lord (v. 4).  Ultimately, when King Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah and Jerusalem prayed and organized a choir to praise God, God gave them victory over the vast army.  As I reflected on this miraculous victory, I received four lessons:

 

(1)    The first lesson is that when we suddenly encounter immense difficulties, we should resolve to humble ourselves before God like Daniel (Dan. 10:12) and, like King Jehoshaphat, decide to seek God’s guidance (2 Chron. 20:3).  We must pray to God. In particular, when facing tremendous difficulties in the family, we learn that all family members should pray to God.

 

(2)    The second lesson is that when we face enormous difficulties, we must first recognize and admit that we do not have the power and ability to solve these immense problems on our own.  At the same time, we need to acknowledge that only God in heaven has the power and ability to resolve such overwhelming challenges.  Therefore, we are taught to trust and rely on God, seeking His help.

 

(3)    The third lesson is that when we face immense difficulties, we should quietly remain before God and recall the grace He has bestowed upon us in the past.

 

(4)    The fourth lesson is that no matter how much Satan and his forces attack our family, we should not be afraid or discouraged.  The reason is that this spiritual battle is not our fight but God’s.  Even in the face of tremendous difficulties, we should trust the words given by God and His servants, maintaining assurance of salvation and victory, giving thanks to God, and praising Him for His eternal love.  When we do this, God will turn the ‘Valley of Achor’(valley of trouble) (Josh.7:26) into the “Valley of Berarcah” (valley of blessing) (2 Chron. 20:26).

 

As I reflected on Colossians 3:18-21, I began to wonder what a family that obeys these teachings might look like.  The passages that particularly caught my attention were Colossians 3:16b and 3:17b, which we had already considered: “… singing to God with gratitude in your hearts” (v. 16b) and “giving thanks to God the Father through Him” (v. 17b).  When I connected these verses with Colossians 3:18-21, I realized that a family that obeys God's word is a family that praises God the Father with a thankful heart.  Therefore, under the title “A Family that Praises God the Father with a Thankful Heart,” I would like to meditate on four lessons from Colossians 3:18-21, focusing on what God’s teachings are for our family: (1) What God says to wives, (2) What God says to husbands, (3) What God says to children, (4) What God says to parents.

 

First, what God says to wives is ‘Submit to your husbands.’

 

Look at Colossians 3:18: “Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.”  In Ephesians 5:22, the Bible says, “Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord.”  The Modern Korean Translation renders it as “Wives, submit to your husbands as you do to the Lord.”  Pastor Lloyd-Jones, in his book Spiritual Living, explains: “… What does it mean to submit as to the Lord?  It means, 'Wives, submit to your husbands because it is part of your duty to the Lord, and doing so is an expression of your submission to Him'” (Llyod-Jones).  If female members are not submitting to their husbands, it is not only neglecting your duty to the Lord but also a sign that they are not truly submitting to Him.  This means that while others might perceive the faith of female members to be strong, in the eyes of the Lord, such faith may not be significant.  A woman who does not submit to her visible husband is not truly submitting to the invisible Lord.

 

Some women may ask, "Do I still need to submit to my husband even though he does not believe in Jesus, just as I do to the Lord?"  The answer can be found in 1 Peter 3:1-5: "Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands, so that if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives.  When they see the purity and reverence of your lives, your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes.  Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.  For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves.  They submitted themselves to their own husbands."  As I reflected on this passage, I wrote this brief meditation: "Wives, you should not only focus on outward appearance but should beautify your inner self with a gentle and quiet spirit, which is highly valued by God.  You should adorn yourself by submitting to your husband.  When you submit to your husband, even if he does not believe in the Lord, your respectful and pure behavior may lead him to faith in God.  Your husbands are observing your clean and godly way of life while you serve God." 

 

What kind of woman do you consider to have great faith?  Often, we might think that a woman with great faith is someone who prays diligently within the church.  This is because a woman who prays fervently is perceived as someone who truly believes in and relies on God.  For example, we might think of a woman like Hannah, the mother of Samuel, as a woman of great faith.  Some women may also pray earnestly to God for children, making a vow similar to Hannah's, saying, "If You remember me and give me a child, I will dedicate that child to You for life" (Ref.: 1 Sam. 1:11).  When we see women who earnestly and devotedly seek God in prayer to that extent, we might consider them to be women of great faith.

 

In Matthew 15:21-28, we see a woman whom Jesus refers to as having "great faith" (v. 28).  This woman is described in Mark 7:25-26 as a "Greek, born in Syrophoenicia."  The term "Greek" indicates that she was a Gentile, not a Jew, and the "Syrophoenician" denotes that she belonged to the Phoenician people of Syria.  This ethnic group was descended from the Canaanite people who were driven out by the Jews when they conquered Canaan (Park).  Therefore, Matthew introduces her simply as a Canaanite woman (Mt. 15:22).  This Canaanite woman had a daughter who was possessed by a demon.  Upon hearing of Jesus, she immediately sought Him out (v. 22).  My question is, why did Jesus say to this woman, "Woman, you have great faith" (v. 28)?  I believe there are at least two reasons for this:

 

(1)   A woman with great faith is someone who believes in Jesus as Lord and Christ.

 

According to the Jewish historian Josephus, who lived in the 1st century AD, the region where Jesus met the Canaanite woman, Tyre, was part of Syrophoenicia and located to the north of Galilee.  This area was inhabited by Gentiles who were hostile to the Jews.  Despite being a Gentile, the Canaanite woman immediately came to Jesus and fell at His feet upon hearing of Him.  The reason for this was that she did not regard Jesus merely as another Jewish person, as other Gentiles might have.  Instead, she believed Jesus to be "the Son of David" (Mt. 15:22).  It was with this faith that she approached Jesus.

 

(2)   A woman with great faith is one who earnestly pleads with the Lord (v. 22).

 

She fervently cried out to the Lord, “Have mercy on me,” for her daughter who was suffering terribly from demon possession.  She continued to cry out to Jesus (v. 23).  Even when Jesus initially did not respond to her earnest pleas with a single word (v. 23), she kept following Him and pleading persistently.  Her earnest request was for Jesus to cast out the demon from her daughter (Mk. 7:26).  Ultimately, Jesus heard the earnest prayers of this woman with great faith and bestowed upon her the blessings of the Kingdom.  As a result, her demon-possessed daughter was healed and made whole.

 

Women of great faith surely believe in Jesus as Lord and keep Him in their hearts as they live.  My question is: "Does she believe in Jesus as Lord and keep Him in her heart not only within the church but also at home?"  I ask this question because it seems that while women of great faith might strive diligently to live according to the Lord's teachings within the church and outside of it, they may not be living in such a way within their homes.  Specifically, the statement that women of great faith may not be living according to the Lord's teachings at home means they are not submitting to their husbands as mentioned in Colossians 3:18.  This results in "the word of God being maligned" (Tit. 2:5).  The Bible clearly states that it is fitting for those who believe in the Lord for wives to submit to their husbands (Col. 3:18).  However, it appears that even women of great faith may not be following this teaching within their homes.  If this is the case, we need to ask ourselves: "Is it right in God's eyes to think that one can be obedient to the Lord while not obeying their husband, whom the Lord commands them to submit to?"  What do you think?  Is it correct to believe that one can be obedient to the Lord while failing to follow the Bible's command to submit to their husband?