Colossians 3:20-21
Children, obey the parents according to every way for this
is pleasing in the Lord. Fathers, do not
cause your children to become resentful in order that they should not become
discouraged.
Thoughts for Today
First Thought:
Today we hear about
children. They are told to obey. Here is another hard word for us to
hear. Obey. Who wants to obey? Don’t we all desire to fulfill our own
desires? When we obey, doesn’t that
imply putting our own desires aside and embracing the desires of another? Yet, again we see that this is modeled in
Christ. Isn’t that what Christ did? Isn’t that what it means to be the Son of the
Father? So if the Son obeyed the Father
and we desire to be a disciple of the Son, should not we obey our parents?
Do you obey easily?
What makes it easier to obey?
What gets in the way of your desire or ability to obey?
Second Thought:
Of course, we also need to return to the prior context of
the last few verses. In a household
where the husband is sacrificially loving the wife and the wife is submitting
to the husband, doesn’t it seem natural for the children to desire to
obey? If the model that the children are
living in is truly based on sacrificial love and submission, certainly it makes
sense that obedience is a part of that!
What is the context of the family that you see being
established by Paul? Does this context
speak about just physical family or spiritual family, too?
Third Thought:
The final verse of this passage asserts
the same conclusion that we’ve already drawn.
The core of the family dynamic starts with the father. If the father is sacrificially loving, the
wife will be willing to submit. If the
father is not harsh and does not drive his children into discouragement, they
will be willing to obey. There is always
much reciprocity among the family, just as there is much reciprocity among God
and the spiritual family into which He calls us. But just as salvation starts with the Father’s
grace, so do the dynamics of the human family start with the father.
Where do you see this dynamic being put
on display in the world around you? Do
you think that this is a family dynamic that the world values?
Passage for Tomorrow: Colossians 3:22-4:1
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