Eph 6 — Children and Parents, The Whole Armor of God
Thoughts about serving others
This link includes a list of posts about Serving the Least, the Lost, and the Lonely.
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Let the Word evoke words. May your life encourage lives.
“Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4) is a verse that my children have reminded me of more than once. Mostly just in jest, but I find that we do things in jest when we don’t know a better way to reveal frustration. To be sure, I have never intended to exasperate our children, consistently intending to raise them according to the Lord. Now we have adult children and we’re moving into a new phase, a new chapter, in which we get to be their encourager in a different light. Lord, forgive me for any time I’ve exasperated my wonderful children and help me to continue to instruct and train them all the days of my life.
Paul reminds us of this truth: “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (6:12). Hollywood attempts to “help” us with this concept by providing visual effects for evil spirits and the battles that go on unseen. Our battles are real and I think it more often follow the C.S. Lewis notion of Screwtape where we get gently nudged to go slightly off course and stay off course until we have completely lost our way. This is not to say we should be less prepared for battle! We must “put on the full armor of God” (6:13) for our battle will come at the time we least expect it and in a form that will surprise even the most valiant warrior. Each day we read God’s word, we grow a bit stronger in faith and become a more visible target for the powers of this dark world. Lord help me to carefully and methodically put on your armor every day and prepare for the battle that is unseen.