In Psalm 127 verse 1, the Bible says, “Except the LORD build the house, they labor in vain that build it…” Often, we do not stop to find out what God has in mind for our lives and our families.  Life becomes work, work, work, and run, run, run; and there’s very little meaning to it all.  God does have a plan and a purpose for our families.  When His plan is followed, home becomes a refuge and a safe-haven.  So what is God’s purpose for the family?

First, God intends for the family to model the Christian life.  It is in the context of the family where children first see what it means to respect and honor God.  It’s in the context of a family where God intends for the love of Christ to be consistently modeled.  Nothing generates disappointment and rebellion in the heart of children like an inconsistent model in their life.  As parents, we must seek to model consistency in our daily lives -in the words we say, in the things we do, and in the commitments we make.

Second, God’s purpose for the family is to mentor our children in the Christian life.  Modeling refers to displaying or showing the Christian life, but mentoring takes it a step further.  A mentor is one who takes the hand of another and shows him the way.  It is one thing to say what is right; it is another to live it.  How do we mentor?  First, we mentor by nurturing.  Someone who is nurturing another is providing conditions most favorable to healthy growth.  God wants us to be concerned for the hearts of our children and to provide an environment that is most favorable to their spiritual growth.  Second, we nurture by encouraging.  Help your child reach his full potential by catching him doing something right.  As parents, we must discipline our children, but we also need to be looking for the times when we can praise them for doing something right.

Third, God intends for the family to motivate our children in the Christian life.  Most parents would agree that they want to model a good life for their children, and most would agree that they want to mentor their children in what is right; but somehow, we lose the motivation for following through on these principles.  So, how do we stay motivated as a family?  We can stay motivated through hearing from the Bible, God’s Word.  We can read and study it, and we can hear it preached or taught.  We can stay motivated through forgiving one another.  Nothing hinders progress like a big family fight.  The key to getting motivation back after one of those disagreements is to forgive one another.  Not forgiving and choosing to hold on to our hurts destroys the foundation of our family and our motivation.

God does have a purpose for your family, and you can enjoy life at home.  When we learn the truth from the Bible and apply those truths to our lives, our families can be all that God wants them to be and we can have real purpose and joy.