The 10 Commandments Part 5/10
7/29/18 Exodus 20:12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.”
This may be the only command that has the potential for great variance in how it is obeyed. The place this command holds in one’s life does vary greatly over time.
It will be viewed indeed differently for the 8 year old, for the 14 year old, for the 19 year old, for the 27 year old, for the 34 year old, for the 45 year old, for the 52 year old and for the 66 year old. And it is therefore incumbent on each person to determine what the responsibility of honoring their parent looks like in each season of life. What does it look like for you?
If you out live your parents, count it a blessing to have the opportunity to figure out what it means to honor them for a good long time. You won’t always have it. Some never have.
If your parents were mean spirited and even evil, search for how to forgive/ ask God for the grace to forgive them, so that you do not live in the bondage of their control. Even if they have passed, you may need to forgive and release them, for your own good. It isn’t for them, it is for you that you forgive. It is for both that you honor them.
But what of parents? How are they to respond to their children if they do not perceive that they are receiving said honor? I would beg parents to not make demands, but to take a posture of humility and lead a life that will inspire honor from your children.
And it is indeed honorable to honor your parents. We need not only assume failure, but we can aspire to hit the mark of the commands. Jesus commanded we go and make disciples, teaching them to obey ALL He commanded. That is still the aim.
Yes, there is forgiveness from Him if we fail, but that doesn’t mean we should aim any lower than what is commanded.
Aim high. Honor your parents.
Figure out what that looks like right now in this season of life.
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