Because It Honors God

Ephesians 6:2-3 “Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promise: “that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.”

Today's New Testament verses are verses that are repeated from the Old Testament verses in Exodus 20:12. A reminder that ALL Scripture was God-breathed, and ALL Scripture is profitable. A reminder that our God has not changed. He is the same yesterday, today, and always. This command, like many others, is not the easiest to keep. As children, many of us looked up to our parents. Yet, as we grew older we may not have viewed our parents as being as "smart" as we thought they were. For some, we grew up in less than favorable environments, and may have even had little to no love for our fathers or mothers. Yet, God did not include a condition in His command that allows for its disobedience. He did not tell us to only honor fathers and mothers who always made the right decisions or always treated us fairly. He did not tell us to only honor those parents that did all the right things in raising us. He didn't even tell us to only honor those parents who were always there for us. That, my friends, can be a very tough pill to swallow. Some of us did not grow up with our fathers, or even our mothers, at home. They may have done the best they could, under their circumstances, and may have been far from perfect; but in many cases their love was undoubtable. The bottom line is that we could find plenty of excuses to choose not to honor either one of our parents, but we must realize, and acknowledge, that they were just as imperfect as we are, now that we too are adults and may have made some of our own mistakes as parents; and if we think we haven't, hold on, it's coming. They, like us, had to deal with the demons in their lives, and sometimes they made sinful decisions that would have long lasting consequences for them and for us as well. However, when it is all said and done, the one thing we can say for sure, because of God's grace in our own lives, is that we must always honor both our fathers and mothers for as long as we have breath; not because they always deserved it, but because God commands it, and because that is what honors God.

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His free gift of salvation (Romans 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive His free gift of salvation today (Romans 10:13).