TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
“Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise—“so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.” Ephesians 6:2-3
Read: Ephesians 6:1-3
Listen: Ephesians 6
TODAY’S MESSAGE
Paul speaks to one of the most challenging and stressful relationships in a family. He points back to the beginning of God’s relationship with his people and the command to honor parents. This is one of the Ten Commandments God gives his people. He’s showing them how to live in a way that reflects him to the world around them. This is a big deal to God, and he promises to bless them for keeping it. There’s no age limit on honoring parents.
The Gospel empowers us to see our parents more clearly. Through the love of Jesus, we can see our parents as God sees them—radically flawed AND radically loved by God. They need Jesus’s love and forgiveness just like we do. When we know we are already infinitely loved, treasured and secure, we are free from needing our parents’ validation and approval. We can honor them through God’s power and love.
Honoring parents might mean saying thank you or giving them attention and time through regular phone calls or visits. We can honor them by including them in our lives, inviting them to events or sharing a big work or school activity. We honor them by listening and not dismissing their experiences, input or wisdom. If we still live with our parents, we can honor their wishes in their homes and keep them in the loop on our activities.
IN YOUR CHAIR TIME TODAY
Take a tangible step to honor your parents today if they are still living. If you struggle to honor your parents, ask God for help and invite a trusted friend to pray for you in this relationship. If your parents are no longer around, share a story that honors them with someone today.
2023 SPIRITUAL PRACTICES
Join us all of 2023 developing a different spiritual practice each month. SPIRITUAL PRACTICES are intentional regular activities to deepen our relationship with God and mold us to be more like Jesus.
March is FASTING. Keep track of our spiritual practices at beyondtheweekend.org/spiritualpractices.
Download a printable PDF of the BTW week here.
