They profess that they know God; but in works they deny Him; being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate. Titus 1:16
But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house. Mark 6:4
And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. Matthew 10:36
We have a very serious topic, but a topic that is all too common in its occurrence in Christian homes since Eden. The signs of the times are doing their appointed work at present, alerting us to the “impending conflict” in this world, that will usher in the second coming of Christ. The occupants of our homes may even give lip service to belief in the connections being observed
BUT,
“If things get a bit too close” and the conversation leads onto deeper spiritual issues we are met with a cool, cold or even frozen response, and “the air” changes, even though they may not even be aware themselves that this is occurring. Whether this is our spouse, or a child, we realise that they are not with us spiritually. This leads to various, even more uncomfortable, situations until we have to face the fact that we are living with an enemy of truth and righteousness in our own home. This is not what we had in mind when we married or later had children. The air becomes increasingly tense until all spiritual discussions become superficial or eventually cease. If each one is not wanting to do the will of God, there can never be unity in any home for “unity is the sure result of Christian perfection”. All of this is not easy, in fact it is very uncomfortable, and can take a very heavy toll on our lives and health; it is even worse than a divided home shared with an unbeliever.
We have all observed in the homes of others, that this very unfortunate scenario, now occurring under our own roof, will only go one of two ways. Either we will compromise for the sake of peace and eventually feel quite at home drifting with them losing our way also, or we will decide for Christ’s sake to rest and abide in Him, knowing that He loves our loved one and only He can choose the right timing to break through this wall of hardness that has built up.
Many of us in this scene have had to honestly admit that we did not seek the LORD perfectly to ask His will in the choice of our spouses; we had a way of looking and feeling like that is what we were doing but it was not actually what we were courageous enough to do, because the outcome may not have been what we wanted to face at the time. This usually “comes back to bite us” in many areas of the home life and in particular the raising of our children where we were also not abiding in Christ. There is also the influence of other family, friends, associates, the pull of the world, the cares of this life and the affect of heredity and cultivated tendencies to evil brought into play at this time, none of which are helpful. The Scriptures and the Testimonies to the (Laodicean) Church Volumes 1-9 are replete with counsel to homes with this very problem; what is needed to overcome it, and the effects thereof. We also know that it is very unlikely that this person, or persons, in our home will be seeking this counsel or even desiring to do so.
Some have had a lifetime of this conflict eating away the peace in their homes. So, what can be done? If we are going to choose the way of God we all have to eventually realise that “If the warnings and reproofs given in the Word of God and in the testimonies of His Spirit are not plain enough, what words would be sufficiently plain to bring about a revival and a reformation?” There is nothing we can do and no more words that we can say that will effect a change, so eventually we have to accept that each one must decide their eternal destiny for themselves and with greater resolve press on trusting Christ, totally dependant on Him as He lives His life in and through us, knowing that He can make “everything beautiful in His time”. Now, “that would be a home where the angels delight to dwell”!
And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation. Exodus 34:6,7
