How should you and how do you react when another person hurts you and deeply offends you?

Fortunately for us, our private, most intimate thoughts in these kinds of situations rarely become public. Unfortunately, sometimes they do!

Wanting retribution, payback or even taking vengeance might be the all-too-human recourse. However, we who walk as Christians are enjoined by a much different provision: “Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord” (Romans 12:19).

How did Jesus Christ apply and live by this command? Quite simply, He approached everything He did with an attitude of love—outgoing concern even for those who mistreated Him and then even caused His death. Furthermore, He left it to God—He submitted Himself completely to God’s perfect Will, to God’s promise of ultimate justice!

The Church of God was founded with procedures that govern the relationships we all have—whether among the body of believers or those who are on the outside. Ask yourself (please, make this very, very personal): “Am I taking from God what is His? Am I trying to get back at someone for something that they did to me? Is there a person or are there people to whom I would wish harm or even death?”

Consider once again Romans 12:17-21, but this time in its broader context:

“Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceable with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord. Therefore ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

Just imagine that an example such as this might help someone to change, to be sorry, to right his or her way of living! Just think about the impact that godly love might have on someone who isn’t obedient to God. In fact, it is our opportunity to perhaps even assist God in that which is His ultimate goal for humankind:

“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).

The company that I work for as a store manager hires another company to inspect our stores. This inspection is unscheduled and very rigorous, and stores usually score in the mid 80’s to 90’s. When the company conducts their unannounced inspection, they want to catch you off guard, so you have to consistently ensure that your store is clean and ready, and that it manifests outstanding personal performance.

Over the last few months, many stores within the San Diego area have been having their inspections, but I hadn’t received mine until last week.

A few weeks ago I was on a conference call with my Regional Director and two District Managers, inquiring whether I was ready for the upcoming inspection. We went over a list of the top 20 most missed areas in stores. Near the end of the phone call the Regional Director asked me what score I would receive if my store was to be audited that day. I told him we would receive close to a hundred percent.

Last Thursday morning, I specifically asked God to please send us the inspection soon, as I felt good about where my store was in regard to its cleanliness status. I also asked Him to help us to achieve a good score. As I arrived at work and started my day, I told the employees that we would get audited that day. They laughed, and we went through the day, doing the things we needed to do.

As I had reached the end of my shift, clocked out and sat there, waiting for a drink to be made for me, I saw a lady in a blue shirt walk into our store, wearing a badge. My heart skipped a beat! Our inspection had actually arrived virtually at the last minute and on the very same day when I had earnestly prayed about it. I introduced myself to the lady as the store manager. She went ahead and started the inspection, as I waited nervously, saying quiet prayers. She finally came back to me with the result–an amazing 97%–which will greatly contribute to a year’s end bonus in addition to the bonus that I had recently received. As my wife has just delivered our baby, any additional income is helpful.

I can’t help but comparing our lives with this inspection. We have to be constantly cleaning, evaluating and eliminating the dirt in our lives. We don’t know the exact time when Christ will return, even though we do know that the time is near. If we give up and stop trying because it seems to be too hard and not worth the battle, then we will definitely lose out. And when the “inspection” comes, our score won’t be great. We can’t be like the unprofitable servant, burying his talent and not putting it to work. We must bear fruit. Otherwise, we would be like Peter before his conversion, when he walked on water for a short while, but when he focused on the wind and the roaring waves, his faith diminished and he sank.

If we are persistent, look to God and put our faith and confidence in Him, we will never have to worry about failing and about not making it. Christ told us that we can have total trust in Him, as He won’t let us down. 1 Peter 5:7 tells us to cast “all your cares upon Him, for He cares for you.”

How strongly do we believe this Scripture? Or the one in Hebrews 4:16, which says: “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we  may obtain MERCY and find GRACE to help in time of need”? Our time of need is now! Satan is walking about like a roaring lion, with great wrath, seeking whom he may destroy and devour (1 Peter 5:8). He will try to discourage us and to cast doubt and despair, attempting to convince us that we should give up. We must resist him by being steadfast in the faith (verse 9).

When we submit to God, Satan will flee from us (James 4:7). When we stay close to God, He WILL help us (compare Matthew 17:20; 6:30-33). Isaiah 55:6 warns us to seek God while He may be found. Our faithful prayers are not in vain. God hears them. And He may answer in most unexpected, surprising and unannounced ways. We just have to have the patience and the faith that He will intervene for us in His time.

On Sunday 11th July, the FIFA Football World Cup final will take place. Many nations played in qualifying matches around the world with the result that the top 32 nations participated in South Africa.

The over-riding opinion on sport seems to be that it can bring nations together and provide an opportunity to work together for good through this medium. That can be true, but it can also have the damaging effect that many professional sports stars are, today, far from being good role models, and they often act, instead, irresponsibly both on and off the field of play.

Football today — or “soccer” for our American readers — has become a modern “god” with millions of followers around the world, and what players do on the pitch in the UK or continental Europe, as well as in many African and South American nations, is copied by millions of young people during Sunday morning games. Abusing the referee, vile language, dissent and general argument and trying to injure opponents, while pretending innocence are just some of the behaviours that are copied by the young, and not so young, as they mimic those they look up to!

When England was eliminated by Germany, the wrath of the English press and media was meted out mercilessly on the manager and the players. I am sure that this was also the case in the French and Italian press as their highly fancied teams were knocked out in the first round. And in each country, as their team was eliminated, there would have been, to one extent or another, an enquiry or recriminations as to why they didn’t do better. The worst in human nature appeared from every nook and cranny in the land!

Whilst sport can indeed bring people together to enjoy either playing or watching, it can also bring out the worst in human nature in many different ways.

A caution must be given to a true Christian who plays sports — or is a fan of sports: He or she is not to allow this to become an idol. In 1 John 5:21, it states: “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.” We must never allow any sport to become more important to us than our relationship with God. This would include, then, not to watch a football game or any other game of sports, on the Sabbath–which is God’s HOLY day–no matter how “important” or “critical” that game might appear to be.

In 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, the apostle Paul addresses the issue of striving for a crown by using the analogy of running a race. The “KJV Commentary” states: “The Isthmian games were an athletic event known to all of his readers, held on alternate summers within the vicinity of Corinth. It was an event not to be missed by anyone of importance in all parts of Greece.” Of course, in running a race there can only be one winner, but we are running the Christian race and we can all be winners!

Whatever the sport–football, basketball, rugby, tennis, cricket, golf, athletics or any number of other activities–we have to ensure that we are not caught up in the “zeitgeist”– “the spirit of the times” or “the spirit of the age.” Sports in general, and football or basketball in particular, can be interesting and  entertaining, but we must always make sure that they are kept in perspective.  Unfortunately, football is a new religion in many places for many people. But we must be different. God must be first in our life (Exodus 20:3; Matthew 6:24; 19:16-22; Luke 14:26); not sport, sports stars or any other celebrity.

I have to confess that when England lost to Germany I was disappointed with their display, but that was it. It was just a game of football. In the context of a Christian’s life, it really didn’t register as anything of lasting importance. Others who make a “god” of a sport or sports stars, will inevitably be let down at some stage. But God never lets us down, and we should try and emulate that by never letting God down.

Our attitude on such matters says a lot about our relationship with God, and the level of our conversion.

Often when playing golf with others, I hear them exclaim, “That’s not where I was aiming,” as their ball goes flying off the fairway into some danger.  The problem is that the ball went EXACTLY where they were aiming, just not where they were intending. Their feet, body, club, hands, etc. were all set up in such a way that the shot never had a chance of ending up where they wanted it to, but did end up literally where it was aligned.

When we look at where we are in life, are we where we want to be with our job, family, relationships, church, God, etc.?  No?  Are we at a point along the line that we were aiming? Yes!  As we go through life, sometimes we find ourselves somewhere where we never wanted to be.  If we are honest in our assessment of all the choices we have made, then we are EXACTLY at a point along these lines.

When driving a golf ball, if the hit is only a few degrees off of the intended mark, this can spell trouble.  The longer the drive, the further off course it can be.  The longer we continue to head in a wrong direction, even if it is unintentional, the farther we get from our original goal.

One of the interesting aspects of golf though, is that there are several chances to get it up on the green and into the hole.  If a mistake is made and the golfer has gone askew off the target, there is an opportunity to reassess the situation and get back on track with the next shot.

We can do the same as we endeavor to walk down the Path.  If we look up today and find ourselves off the road we had been traveling, even slightly, we have been afforded the opportunity to also make adjustments and zero in on our Ultimate Goal.  The sooner we do this and the more accurately we hone in, the better off we are going to be, and the more likely we will not only hit where we were aiming, but where we intended also.

Several years ago I asked a friend how things were going and if he had gotten a job, since I knew that he had been searching for one. In the course of our conversation he informed me that he had landed a job with a certain company. I was surprised and asked him how he had  managed to get a job there, since it was very difficult to get in.

He relayed to me that he showed up there on Monday morning at 8:00 am and asked to talk to the Personnel Manager. After an introduction and laying out his qualifications and desire to work for the company, he was told by the Manager that there were no openings at that time. On Tuesday morning, at 8:00 am, he showed up again and asked to see the Personnel Manager who was quick to ask him why he had returned. My friend told him that he wanted to get a job there. The Manager responded that he had already explained to him the previous day that there were no openings at that time.

On Wednesday, my friend showed up again at 8:00 am and asked to see the Personnel Manager.  The Manager told him once more that they had no openings. On Thursday, at 8:00 am,  my friend showed up again. The Manager took one look at him and said: “Just report for work tomorrow at 8:00 am.”

“So that’s how I got the job there,” my friend told me. “I guess, my persistence paid off.”

Indeed it had. Persistence can be described as an ongoing effort and action in spite of opposition, obstacles, set-backs, rejection or discouragement.

The concept of persistence can be found in the Bible. For instance, Christ gave the following parable of the widow and the unjust judge in Luke 18:1-8:

“And He also spoke a parable to them to teach it is always right to pray, and not to faint, saying, A certain judge was in a certain city, not fearing God, nor respecting man. And a widow was in that city. And she came to Him, saying, Avenge me of my adversary. And he would not do so for a time. But afterward he said within himself, Though I do not fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me, I will avenge her, that she not wear me down in the end. And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge says. And shall not God avenge His own elect who cry day and night to Him, though He has been long-suffering over them? I say to you that He will avenge them speedily. Yet when the Son of Man comes, shall He find faith on the earth?”

The admonition is clear. We are not to throw in the towel if we are rejected the first time. We need to keep seeking, asking and knocking.

Perhaps God is really testing our persistence when we ask for something and do not receive an immediate response. What should we do? We should keep asking until we obtain what we have requested or until it is clearly revealed to us, for instance through obvious circumstances, that God’s answer in a particular situation is “No.”

Paul asked God to be healed. He might have suffered from an eye problem or even from malaria, as some commentators suggest. Did he quit after his first request was not answered in the way Paul had expected? No. He asked three times–apparently being anointed three times–until God’s answer was, “My grace is sufficient for you.” Paul clearly realized, after his third request, that God would not heal him in this life, and Paul accepted and even gladly submitted to God’s Will.

Sometimes we are asked to pray for an individual who is suffering from a sickness or who has a different serious problem. Do we quit praying after a few days, or do we continue until the person is healed or his problem is solved, or particular circumstances clearly reveal that God’s Will is different than what we were praying for?

Christ gives this promise to the Philadelphia church: “Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth” (Revelation 3:10).

Paul encourages us in Ephesians 6:18-19 to pray “always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints, and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel…”

God commands us to be persistent and to persevere–just like the unjust judge who granted the widow her request and the Personnel Manager who gave my friend his job. They obtained what they desired because they would not give up.

How persistent are you?

Last week’s Editorial asked, “Are you a GOOD Christian?” This week, let us ask, “Are we REAL Christians?” If you answered “yes,” how do you know?

Are we real Christians because we believe in God and Christ? James 2:19 says “… Even the demons believe…” Clearly, demons are NOT Christians. So just believing in the existence of God does not make us real Christians.

Does observing the weekly Sabbath and the annual Holy Days and Festivals like the Passover make us real Christians? 1 Corinthians 11:27 says it is possible to observe the Passover in the wrong way and “…be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.” So just observing God’s weekly and annual Festivals and Holy Days, even though necessary, does not make us real Christians.

What if our knowledge of God’s truth is superior to others? What if we have a better understanding of prophecy; a more perfect grasp of the mysteries of the Bible; and if we are more full of faith than others? Surely these things alone make us real Christians, right? Wrong! 1 Corinthians 13:2 says it is possible to have ALL of these things and STILL be “nothing” in the eyes of God, if something else is missing.

The truth is that neither praying (Matthew 6:5; 23:14); preaching (Psalm 50:16; 1 Corinthians 9:27); fasting (Isaiah 58:3-5; Matthew 6:16); tithing (Luke 11:42; 18:12); giving (Matthew 6:1-2); nor even giving up our life under certain circumstances (1 Corinthians 13:3); are enough, to make us real Christians in God’s eyes, which are the only eyes that count. Of course, right prayer; right fasting; right tithing; right giving, including our very lives; and right preaching by those who are commissioned by God to preach; ARE absolutely necessary; but God must see something else in us to consider us real Christians.

In this Editorial, we will be discussing three most important attributes which must be present in our lives, if we want to be real Christians.

Firstly, the Bible clearly shows that real Christians must speak the truth (Ephesians 4:15, 25); walk in truth (2 John 1:4); and worship in truth (John 4:23-24). What is more, 2 Thessalonians 2:10 shows it is not possible to be saved without a deep and genuine LOVE of the truth.

When God looks at us, does He see real Christians that love and cherish the opportunity to know His truth? Turning to and studying the verses quoted in our weekly Updates, member letters and booklets, as well as listening attentively to our weekly and annual messages in services, may be one good way to show how much we are eager to learn the truth.

Secondly, God has demonstrated immeasurable love for us. He sent His Son to die for us (John 3:16). He offered us, as a gift, eternal life (Romans 6:23); and He prepared an unending future of peace and abundance for us (Matthew 25:34; 1 Corinthians 2:9); all while we were sinners and enemies against Him (Romans 5:8, 10). He called us or picked us out (1 Corinthians 1:26); He washed us off (1 Corinthians 6:11); and He made it possible for us to be in His Family (1 John 3:1-2).

How have we responded?

Does God see an unmistakable love of Him and His ways in us; or does He see us leaning towards a love of the world and its ways? The Bible is clear that we cannot have it BOTH ways (James 4:4; 1 John 2:15-16). We must either grow in the fervent love of God and His ways (Mark 12:30; 1 John 2:5; 2 John 6; Deuteronomy 10:12-13); or we are NOT real Christians (1 John 2:4).

Thirdly, why does the Bible talk so much about love and law? Quite simply, because God IS love (1 John 4:8), and “this IS the love of God, that we keep His commandments” (1 John 5:3). Love fulfills His law–God’s love in us KEEPS it to the FULLEST (Galatians 5:14; Romans 13:8). Love is the PURPOSE or AIM of His law (1 Timothy 1:5). When we keep the law in the right way and with the right motives, we show how much we love God. And, as Matthew 22:36-40 explains, all the law and the prophets hang on the two great commandments—to love God and to love our neighbor. Love and the law are inseparable.

But it is not possible to fulfill the first great commandment to love God if we do not fulfill the second commandment to love our neighbor. 1 John 4:20-21 makes this plain: “If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, HOW CAN HE love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.”

What’s more, Christ Himself not only commands us to love our brethren (John 13:35; 1 Peter 1:22) and those who love us (Luke 6:32-33), but to demonstrate HIS gentle, heartfelt and merciful love towards ALL, including those who do not love us in return (Luke 6:27-35). Paul left us a moving example of this in 2 Corinthians 12:15: “And I will very gladly spend and be spent for your souls; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I am loved.”

The commandments to love are comprehensive and inescapable. We are commanded to bear with others in love (Ephesians 4:2); to speak the truth to others in love (Ephesians 4:15); and to let ALL that we do to everyone be done in love (1 Corinthians 16:14).

Whether it is a love of the truth; a love of God; or a love for others; we are commanded to walk in love as Christ walked (1 John 2:6; Ephesians 5:2). If God’s Spirit lives in us (Romans 8:9) and we really do and grow in these things, we not only can assure our hearts before God (1 John 3:18-19), but we can assure ourselves that we are real Christians.

Are you a “good Christian”? Would you say of yourself that you are a “better Christian” than you were last year? How many of us are—day-in and day-out—living the “best Christian” life we can?

The time for us to engage ourselves in our calling is NOW! What we have already accomplished is written, and as to those things that lie ahead, here is what Jesus cautioned us to do, “‘Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble’” (Matthew 6:34).

Solomon, who is known for having great wisdom and knowledge, made this very astute recommendation: “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going’” (Ecclesiastes 9:10).

Paul teaches the Christian application of this principle: “And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ. But he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality” (Colossians 3:23-25).

We know, and we are convinced that if we do what is right in God’s sight—if we please Him, the rewards are and will continue to be boundless!

In chapters 12 and 13 of 1 Corinthians, Paul addresses how God has organized the Church of God. Beyond the offices and gifts that are a part of the church, Paul makes this challenge: “But earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way” (1 Corinthians 12:31). That way is summarized in verse 13 of chapter 13: “And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

The Father and Jesus Christ are the greatest in their expression of love. In fact, so complete, so all encompassing and superlative are their ways in this respect, that we have this definition: “God is love” (1 John 4:8, 16).

If our Christian lives are to attain the “best,” then let us consider and with heart-felt enthusiasm embrace Paul’s exhortation: “Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. Let all that you do be done with love” (1 Corinthians 16:13-14).

Many would agree that we are living in the last days. But how many comprehend the tremendous responsibility which accompanies such understanding?

Paul warns us in 2 Timothy 3:1-4: “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money… unloving, unforgiving, slanderers… brutal… headstrong… lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God…”

Of course, many might say, this only describes the people in this evil world–it does not address conditions in the Church of God. And they even reason that they are true “Philadelphia” Christians, who have endured and overcome, and who are loved by God and will find protection from the great tribulation (Revelation 3:9-10). They are convinced that the biblical warnings to lukewarm “Laodicea” Christians or the world at large only apply to others.

Many who are claiming to be part of the body of Christ say that “they”–and “only they”–are Philadelphia Christians, perhaps without fully realizing that “Philadelphia” means “brotherly love.” They may feel and even proclaim that it is the other Christians who are the “poor, blind and naked” Laodiceans (Revelation 3:17). Christ warned of such self-deception–especially when we think that we are spiritually “wealthy, and have need of nothing” (same verse). Paul says that “he who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12).

Those who uphold self-righteous positions of glorying in themselves, while despising and condemning others (Luke 18:9), lack what is tantamount to being a true and zealous Christian–brotherly or “Philadelphia” love and, what is even more important, godly love. The Bible calls this godly love “agape” love, which God has poured in our hearts by the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). We can only have godly love if Christ, through His Spirit, lives in us. Paul challenges us to examine ourselves whether Christ really LIVES in us (2 Corinthians 13:5). If He does, we will love our fellow man; otherwise, we are not even of God (1 John 3:10; compare John 5:42).

As we are living in the last days, we must be very careful that we are not being affected by the ungodly and unloving world around us (1 John 2:15). Christ tells self-righteous and spiritually blind Laodicean Christians to repent of their sins and to become zealous (Revelation 3:19). Otherwise, Christ will vomit them out of His mouth (Revelation 3:16). They will cease to be His disciples, because of their lack of godly love (John 13:35).

Could this include you? Examine yourself! Do you love God and your fellow man, or just yourself and worldly pleasures which you want to enjoy? Are you diligent in excelling in technical aspects of God’s law, but neglecting to manifest the love of God in your life (Luke 11:42)? Are you willing to forgive, or are you unforgiving and unloving, quick to slander and to condemn others (Matthew 6:14-15; compare James 4:11-12)?

Could Christ be warning you, when He describes the spiritual condition of His Church in the end time? Notice: “And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold” (Matthew 24:12). Christ refers here to godly “agape” love. Since only those in whom God’s Spirit dwells have such godly love, Christ is addressing Church members–those who have received God’s Spirit and with it the love of God, but who allow the love of God to GROW cold! And unless they repent or change and become again zealous to renew and use God’s love in them, Christ will vomit them out of His mouth!

We are living in perilous and serious times–and it is high time to awake out of sleep (Romans 13:11). “Therefore, let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober” (1 Thessalonians 5:6). Let us make every effort to use powerfully God’s love in us. “For this IS the love of God that we keep His commandments” (1 John 5:3)–and with God’s love in us, we are fulfilling His law (Romans 13:10) and do not sin (1 John 3:4). Paul is not giving us this warning for nothing: “Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; for some do not have the knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame” (1 Corinthians 15:34).

Earlier this year, my wife and I visited our son and his wife in Thailand. We saw our 5th grandchild, Austin, for the first time. He is just 10 months old. This got me to thinking about the ways that families can now be a group of geographically separate and disparate groups that may often be only connected by the family name. Social mobility occasioned by economic factors, job prospects, marrying someone from another country, preferring the climate of another land or simply being disillusioned by current circumstances are often the cause for people moving and for families seeing little of each other. That was not necessarily the case that much half a century ago, when travel was not a highly marketable commodity, nor did families, generally, think of leaving the area in which they were born and brought up.

In his book “Family Britain 1951-1957”, David Kynaston wrote the following: “Sociologist Michael Young conducted research in London’s Bethnal Green. Here he describes a widow in her 60’s living alone save for a dog and a budgie. She is infirm and rarely goes out. A married daughter lives two minutes’ walk away with her five children. One grandson does her shopping, another collects and returns the washing which is done by the married daughter living ten minutes’ walk away. A young grandson often stays a night. The grandchildren fetch her papers, chop her firewood and take the dog out. Her second daughter collects her pension and her mother spends every Sunday at her home. A son with a market stall brings vegetables every morning and give her ten shillings a week. He lives five minutes walk away with his wife and child. A second son lives in Norwich and that is where the widow spends a fortnight’s (two weeks) holiday every summer. Fifteen relatives are seen at least once a week, several every day.”

It can often be deceptive to just look at everything from yesteryear through rose coloured glasses, but there is no doubt that there was much more genuine social cohesion and care for one another in families, and society, that seems to be missing in so many lives today.

But we have to accept that moving within one’s own country, or abroad, may be a necessity in many cases, as jobs become scarcer, prospects limited and financial pressures build up. But that can impact on the support that families can give to each other at critical times and on an ongoing basis. And, of course, those who have been and are involved in the Work of God have, in many cases, moved a number of times to different parts of the world to carry out those responsibilities that God has given them. The New Testament gives a clear indication that the early apostles were “socially mobile” as was Jesus Himself. But it is incumbent on us, as “ambassadors for Christ” to do the best we can for our families irrespective of our geographical situation. Of course, the other extreme may be that family members can be “smothered” by them not being left to get on with their own lives and make their own decisions (always with input from family members if required). As usual, balance is the key.

When we look at the meltdown in morals, behaviour and the acceptance of “alternative life styles,” this should clearly show us why our society is in such a mess. And all of this has been fostered by a liberal elite with an agenda to shape society in a different way and undermine much of the good that went before it. This has been ably aided and abetted by the god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4) who is the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2).

According to the perceived wisdom of our rulers regarding the definition of a family, it seems that any combination of people will do. One leading politician in the UK stated over a year ago that he believed in marriage. But then he added – marriage between a man and a woman, a man and a man and a woman and a woman! The old “nuclear family” of a husband and wife and two children is no longer the best game in town. Without going through a great catalogue of what now constitutes a family in the eyes of those in power, suffice to say that any grouping today seems to fit the bill.

God’s definition is simple and clearly defined: “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him, male and female He created them” (Genesis 1:27). “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24). And then they were told to have children, to be “fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:28).

In the soon coming Kingdom, the ways of God will be practiced. And families–properly constituted Godly families–will once again be the bedrock of society. That will be a time when the disintegration of the family will be left well behind and society will benefit enormously when God imposes His rules which will be, as always, for the benefit of all of mankind.

In counseling for baptism, we were admonished to “count the cost” before accepting the responsibility of receiving God’s Holy Spirit. We were to do an accounting of what we were getting ourselves into, before we took on the lifelong commitment and all it entailed.

In Luke 14:28-30 we read, “For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it— lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish…”

Now that we have taken on this responsibility, how is our tower proceeding? By now we should have laid a foundation of the elementary doctrines of God (compare Hebrews 6:1-2) and built upon the Rock that cannot be shaken (compare Luke 6:48). That having been done, we are to be
working on our tower.

When constructing our building, are we using good quality materials? We need to have Christ as our Cornerstone–the One that will last (compare Matthew 21:42). Is our craftsmanship all that it should be? Is the tower crooked or are there gaps in it? Or is it fitted together appropriately (compare Ephesians 2:21)?

If we use the blueprint we have been given, we can be God’s building (compare 1 Corinthians 3:9)–one that will endure to the end (compare Matthew 24:13); one that will mold and shape us (compare Matthew 21:44); and one that will allow us to house the Holy Spirit, for which we initially counted the cost (compare 1 Corinthians 3:16).