Join us for a journey this year.

     New Year’s calls for resolutions, right? Well, how many people actually complete a resolution or stick to it beyond the first weeks of January? Not many.

     Instead of a resolution, how about a family revelation? Proverbs 29:18 tells us, “Without revelation people run wild, but one who follows divine instruction will be happy.”

     What if you seek divine revelation for your family? What if you look at the desires of God’s heart and apply them to your family? While you ponder those questions, think about this.

     Does it feel like your family is “running wild” even though you might pray, take them to church, attend a small group, etc, etc. As parents we often do a lot of things and hope that our family will be prosperous, respected, caring, productive members of society. In this rat race of a world, we are often doing a lot of things that seem good. But, is our good the best?

     We like the quote attributed to St. Jerome, “Good, better, best. Never let it rest until your good is better and your better is best.”  Now, that is a fun saying, but it is also a challenge.

     Have you ever had a “family meeting” and talked about what is best for your family? While any family meeting can be an eye opening experience, discussing what is BEST for your family is truly revolutionary. I would recommend that you and your spouse sit down before you add in the children. Fundamentally, praying, contemplating and applying God’s Word, and seeking wise direction from fellow believers will all build a strong foundation of family discipleship.

     For 2019, we will share weekly blogs of wisdom and encouragement for families. Thus, to start this year we encourage meditating on the question of what is the best?

     Let’s not just turn to our own ideas and our own interpretations of Scripture to explore “the best” (iron sharpens iron). Many biblical scholars asked the question “what is the chief end of man?” Those same scholars put together a summary of their questions and answers to many pressing issues called the Westminster Catechism. So, what is their answer to the question ‘what is the chief end of man?’

     The chief end of man is to glorify God and love Him forever.  See: 1 Corinthians 10:31, Romans 11:36, Psalm 73: 24-26, John 17:22, 24

     So, filter that through your family. As a Christian family, to discern our best, we must first know: What does it mean to glorify God? 

     Pastor John Piper defines glorifying as “feeling and thinking and acting in ways that reflect his [God’s] greatness, that make much of God, that give evidence of the supreme greatness of all his attributes and the all-satisfying beauty of his manifold perfections.”

     Ask yourself, “do we do this in our family?” As 1 Corinthians 10:31 states, “whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.” As a couple, do we together think about how we can reflect the greatness of God? Do we promote that to our family? Is God THAT big in your family, or is He a Sunday morning event, tradition, or “just what we do”?

     Now to the second part of the scholar’s answer – “enjoy Him forever.” As big as God is – as sovereign, loving and graceful – do we actually enjoy Him? I know that life can be difficult. It’s not always a walk through the park. But, those difficulties give us opportunity to praise and enjoy Him.

     James writes it best, “Consider it a great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials,  because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.” (James 1:2-4) Sometimes, that is much easier said than done, but we will explore this year how to put that into practice.

     God is saying to your family that His heart is for your family to be His – gaining in maturity, complete, and lacking nothing. That sounds like the best to me. We promote that at CVR and hope you join us in this journey to building your family to be the best they can be in 2019. Remember, this is not about being perfect; it is about learning more about the Perfect One so that we can be examples of His grace and mercy as we love, laugh, error, and forgive, and do it all over again.

To dig deeper, check out these links:

The Westminster Catechism

A modern day look at why we should look at the Westminster Catechism: