At Kids Club this week, my heart sank when I heard the little boy’s remark—“I don’t have a daddy.” As if hearing that was not hard enough, he went on to say that his daddy used to hit his mom, then he finally left them both and never returned.
These kinds of stories are heart wrenching, leaving us searching for answers to the societal epidemic of the vanishing family structure. The marriage bond is an essential ingredient to the stability of any community. When marriage works, a safe haven is created for family protection and provision. When marriage works, children are given an environment to grow and learn from their mistakes. It provides some certainty in a changing world. It offers safety in the midst of dangerous surroundings. It provides the very basics of life like security, shelter, food, and friendship. When it works according to its design, it is where we find openness, honesty, trust, forgiveness, and reconciliation. These are all present when marriage is working. But when it is not, then the protective walls come crumbling down, and the family is vulnerable and exposed. When this happens, there is an opportunity to reach out and help the hurting and the homeless.
When marriage works, the strong family becomes a source of strength and compassion for the widow and the orphan, for the defenseless and the fatherless. Let us keep working on our marriages, so that together we can be for others a resource of comfort and a generous supply of love and grace.
During the 10:30 worship service this Sunday, we have the blessing of hearing Denny Burton play an instrumental on his flugelhorn during the offertory. Let us come ready to be blessed and to be a blessing in the giving of our tithes and offerings.
Have a great weekend!
-Pastor John H
These kinds of stories are heart wrenching, leaving us searching for answers to the societal epidemic of the vanishing family structure. The marriage bond is an essential ingredient to the stability of any community. When marriage works, a safe haven is created for family protection and provision. When marriage works, children are given an environment to grow and learn from their mistakes. It provides some certainty in a changing world. It offers safety in the midst of dangerous surroundings. It provides the very basics of life like security, shelter, food, and friendship. When it works according to its design, it is where we find openness, honesty, trust, forgiveness, and reconciliation. These are all present when marriage is working. But when it is not, then the protective walls come crumbling down, and the family is vulnerable and exposed. When this happens, there is an opportunity to reach out and help the hurting and the homeless.
When marriage works, the strong family becomes a source of strength and compassion for the widow and the orphan, for the defenseless and the fatherless. Let us keep working on our marriages, so that together we can be for others a resource of comfort and a generous supply of love and grace.
During the 10:30 worship service this Sunday, we have the blessing of hearing Denny Burton play an instrumental on his flugelhorn during the offertory. Let us come ready to be blessed and to be a blessing in the giving of our tithes and offerings.
Have a great weekend!
-Pastor John H
Posted in The Greeting