Faith starts at home

23 Nov Faith starts at home

Verse of the Day – Malachi 2:10-17
Thought for the Day: Faith starts at home.

A friend once told me that if you want to understand the quality of someone’s sobriety, see how they treat others at home. The same is true in our relationship with God. Anyone can stand up and tell others how to live. However, God asks us to look in the mirror and ask ourselves how we treat the people we are closest to. When we grow in our relationship with Christ, we learn to serve instead of expecting others to serve us.

The Old Testament prophet Malachi reminded the people living in Jerusalem that faithfulness starts at home. While many were willing to publicly claim faith in God, their home lives were a mess. Rather than seeing that God asks us to first serve our families, the people were unwilling to do the hard work of consistently loving their spouses and children. “You cry out, “Why doesn’t the Lord accept my worship?” I’ll tell you why! Because the Lord witnessed the vows you and your wife made when you were young. But you have been unfaithful to her, though she remained your faithful partner, the wife of your marriage vows.” Put simply, real faith looks the same publicly and privately.

This week we have the opportunity to show our gratitude to God by first loving and serving those God has put in our families. Whether our family consists of our parents, a spouse, siblings, or children isn’t the point. Whoever is in our family, let’s show them what real faith is by loving and serving without conditions. After all, faith starts at home!

In Christ,
Pastor Stan (and David)