NO BIBLE NO BREAKFAST DAILY BIBLE REFLECTIONS AND MORE

1 SAMUEL 2:18-20

COLOSSIANS 3:12-17

LUKE 2:22-40

The family, the future of the church is the theme for our reflection today. A family is a group of one or more parents and their children living together as  a unit. A Church is the fellowship of Christians. The theme therefore calls on faithful Christians to nurture and disciple their families into becoming the future of church. We shall discuss the theme in light of the following points:

1. The family cannot be the future of the church until the family has a relationship with God.
2. The Christian family must possess some important Biblical characteristics to become the future of the church.

Firstly, if the family will become the future of the church then the family must have a relationship with God. We see Elkanah and Hannah having a relationship with God to the extent that they offer Samuel to serve the Lord in the Temple (1 Samuel 2:18-20). “Samuel was ministering before the LORD—a boy wearing a linen ephod. ¹⁹ Each year his mother made him a little robe and took it to him when she went up with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice.” (1 Samuel 2:18-19,21) Again, Joseph and Mary in Luke 2:22-40 show us an example of a family that has a relationship with God. We are told “When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. ⁴⁰ And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him” (Luke 2:39-40) Beloved in the Lord, We must develop a relationship with God as a family by observing family worship at our homes and attending Church services together. The church can hardly be the future of the church if parents are committed members of the church but their children are wayward or nonbelievers. One of the greatest tragedy of a family is to have Christian parents who have worldly and wayward children. Elkanah and Hannah, Joseph and Mary have shown us good examples of Proverb 22:6 which admonishes us that “train up children in the way they should go: and when they grow, they will not depart from it”. It is sad to note that many Christian parents of our time have failed both their children and the church by not ensuring that their children develop a strong bond or relationship with God at their tender age. In some cases, some parents are devoted members of a particular church while their children are elsewhere. Doctrinal differences  are enough to create confusion and misunderstandings in the family. We are encouraged to practice one family, one faith, one Church, one fellowship and one doctrine so that the family can happily and progressively become the future of the church.

Secondly, for the family to become the future of the church, the following characteristic must be visible in the family as captured in Colossians 3:12-17. These characteristic are the same for a healthy and Christ-centered church. The characteristics are forgiveness, love, seeking the peace of Christ for all, living by the Word of God and living a life of gratitude unto God in everything. The foregoing characteristics are signs of a spiritually healthy family that will become the future of the church. My dear friend, If your family is filled with bitterness, hatred, quarrels and divisions, no time for the study of the Word of God and engrossed with the pleasure or desires of the world then it is time for a spiritual revival. A Christ-centered family is truly a happy and promising family that will become the future of the church. I recommend a timeless, tried and tested principle to your family, “NO BIBLE, NO BREAKFAST” A Biblically guided family does the will of God, parents are proud of their children and children are happy to be disciplined and nurtured by their parents according to the standard of the Bible.

In conclusion, for a family to become the future of the church, the family must be committed and have a deep and fulfilling relationship with God. Again, the family must possess all the Biblical characteristic mentioned earlier in our reflections. May the Holy spirit revive your family spiritually to become part of the future of the church. Amen

Jean-Paul Agidi (Rev)