Drop It!
Proverbs 17:6 - "Children’s children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children."
Grandma and grandpa – how they love their grandchildren. Our gray-haired relatives shower us with hugs and kisses and spoil us with candy and treats, or at least they used to when we were little kids. Solomon noted the special relationship between grandparents and their grandchildren in this proverb. God grants a unique blessing of happiness and joy to the elder generation through the young generation.
Does it also work the other way around? Do young people receive blessings from older people? Can children take pride in their parents? When families live according to God's plan for parents and children, the Lord certainly grants many blessings.
It was God's idea to have one man and one woman marry and have a family. (Genesis 2:24) It is by God's design that family members love, serve, and support one another. God gave parents the privilege and responsibility to bring their children up in the training of the Lord. He gave children the command to honor and obey parents. These God-given roles have a purpose: that family members grow in faith together and serve God now and forever.
Oh sure, parents and children don't always get along. Sinfulness will rear its ugly head in every home. That's why Jesus came to earth, to wash away sin, and grant a new life in his name. Parents and children, take pride in the blessings of family! Take pride in the blessings of the family of Christ!
THINGS TO THINK ABOUT: What can you proactively do to practice and promote healthy relationships within your family? How will God help you?
PRAYER SUGGESTIONS: Ask God for help in mending strained or broken family relationships and maintaining and improving solid family relationships. Thank him for the many blessings he's given you through parents and grandparents, and for making you his child so that you can call him Father.