God’s Purpose for Your Family

Have you ever thought about your calling as a family?

We talk a lot about our personal calling and God-given dreams, but have you ever stopped to consider that God has a purpose for your family?

I recently heard it argued that my generation makes an idol of the family.

“Life has become all about the family,” she said, “baseball games and dance recitals, family vacations and play dates. Your generation doesn’t volunteer in ministry or join a small group because they are too busy carting around kids or watching TV!”

Harsh? Maybe.
Truthful? Partly.

Growing up in a generation where divorce grew by epic proportions and “broken” families were the norm, many young parents today have tried to swing the opposite direction and engineer a life that is all about the family. We want what we didn’t have.

Our intentions might be right — we see how important it is to establish healthy relationships within our families, to be fully present for our children, and to encourage them in their gifts — but family is about so much more than sporting events and family game nights!

God instituted families for a specific purpose, and He has a specific call for every family!

Among other Scripture passages, Deuteronomy 6 reminds us as parents that we are called to impress the hearts of our children with a love for God, teaching them diligently through everyday living — family discipleship.

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise (Deut. 6:5-7 ESV).

Disciple-making seems to be all the rage these days. We have returned to the core command of Matthew 22 “make disciples of all nations,” but we are wrestling in our churches with the how of disciple-making and searching for the solution to building authentic community groups.

Often in our search, we miss the glaring truth that God has already solved that problem! “God loves discipleship small groups. He just has another name for them. He calls them families” (Rob Rienow).

God didn’t create the family to be self-serving, self-reliant cocoons of people. God created families as a vehicle to advance the gospel and fulfill the Great Commission! All throughout the pages of Scripture we see family as a multi-generational plan for our world!

As a family, I want to live a life that is more than going through the motions, a life that is more than just memories pasted inside a scrapbook or liked on Facebook and Instagram.

I want to understand God’s purpose for family and live purposefully. I want to discover God’s specific calling for my family and together, live out that calling.

I want my family to live authentically and, together, grow into the likeness of Christ and authentically share the Good News of Jesus with all those around us. And I want that for each of your families, too.

Friends, we do not live to glorify our families; our families live to glorify God in this generation and each one to come.

God’s Purpose for Your Family  is ultimately to Glorify Him!

God is for the family. He is for you, and I am, too.

Together for the Kingdom,

Erika, ErikaDawson.com

Photo Credit: photon_de

As a side note: I have read many, many books on families and parenting and ministry to families, and though many are extremely helpful, Rob Rienow’s book and teachings from Limited Church: Unlimited Kingdom have most profoundly impacted me and those thoughts are reflected here. The book is weighty in areas, but it is rooted in Scripture and very thorough. I highly recommend it to pastors, ministry leaders, and anyone who is seeking to understand a theology of family and what God’s calling is for families.