Ephesians 6:1-4
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise—“so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”
Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.
Devotion
As we saw yesterday, we have a responsibility to bring up our children “in the training and instruction of the Lord.” The Bible clearly speaks concerning the sin of partiality or prejudice. As parents, it is our duty to influence our children, so that social issues like racism will become things of the past. Obviously, we still have a long way to go. My prayer is that as each generation deals with this sin of racism that these efforts would weaken racism’s hold on our culture.
One of the instructions given to fathers in this passage is, “Fathers, do not exasperate your children.” This word “exasperate” carries with it the thought of frustration. Fathers are being instructed not to frustrate their children. So how do we frustrate our children? I have been a parent for 36 years. I have learned that many things frustrate children. There are two things that top the list for me: broken promises and inconsistent parenting.
Consistency and trustworthiness are important ingredients when it comes to influencing the next generation. We have often heard it said when it comes to teaching, “More is caught than taught.” We must consistently model the life of Christ before our children. There are times when we will fail to do this. This is when it is important to model God’s grace. If our talk consistently matches our walk, we will have great influence. This is true in our relationships with our children and in all other relationships as well.
I believe the key to eradicating racism in our culture is capturing the hearts and minds of the next generation with God’s Word. We must exercise godly influence to end this generational curse. Of course, ultimate healing comes from God. I would like to end this five-week series with a final thought from God’s Word: “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14).
Questions to Ponder:
How has God revealed Himself to you these past five weeks? What is God asking you to do in response to this revelation? How might God use you to be a minister of reconciliation during these troubling times?
Prayer Points
- Worship God for His incredible love for everyone!
- Confess any hard heartedness toward others. Confess any jealousy, greed, coveting, slander, pride, controlling, manipulation, deceitfulness, favoritism, or any other attitude that doesn’t belong in a follower of Jesus.
- Invite the Holy Spirt to search your heart. Sit quietly with your eyes focused on Him and respond with confession once His kindness leads you to repentance.
Suggested Prayer
God, I praise You for being the everlasting and eternal God who always was, is and is to come. Thank You Lord for loving me perfectly. Oh God, come and reveal to me my sinful ways. I invite You Lord to have access to every part of my life. Search my heart, mind and soul where ONLY You see. Reveal to me my wicked ways so I can confess them to You and turn from them by the power of the Holy Spirit that resides within me.
Thank You Lord for Your forgiveness, mercy, grace and love that never ends. Thank You Lord for cleansing me and washing me with Your word. Thank You I have been set greed, no longer a slave, but You have called me out of the dominion of darkness and into the kingdom of light.
I lift up those to You Father who are under the thumb and strong hand of so many people and systems. Grant them freedom. Demolish strongholds of oppression in the Name of Jesus Christ. Strengthen, encourage and empower those of color to forgive and to have hope fixed on You. I pray that You would allow things to change. I am asking for significant change in our hearts in this region. Release love and enable me to receive it fully.
Forgive me and your church for our ignorance, laziness, passivity, and minimizing. Stir my heart into action. Lead me Lord with what You have given me and called me to. I want to be used by You. I want to be Your hands and feet. Make me a servant Lord. Amen.