It’s April! I love the Springtime. New life, new opportunity. Just like a good Spring cleaning, we as parents, spouses, and followers of Christ need to clean up our own personal lives and walks. Right now marriages are struggling and families are being destroyed. It’s time to “clean up” the dirt and decay that has collected on our marriage vows and our commitment to parenting.
Husbands and wives, I challenge you to be transparent with your spouse. I challenge you to be open and honest about your intimacy with them. Is it need of repair? Are you communicating about your desires and needs? The Apostle Paul tells us this about physical intimacy in marriage: “Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.” (1 Corinthians 7:5) Husbands, have you been praying with your wife? Have you washed her with the water of the word? Wives, how are you doing in the area of submission and love toward your husband (Ephesians 5:20-33; Titus 2:3-5)? Some of this “relational spring cleaning” has not been done in years. We need a cleansing; we need to repent and seek God once again for our marriages.
Fathers and mothers, are you leading and guiding your children? When is the last time you had a 5-minute family devotional? When is the last time you prayed other than saying grace before dinner? How’s your time being spent? Are we seeking others to do the job we as husbands and fathers are called to do? We need a “family cleanse”. We must repent; we must seek God for our families.
I realize these questions “hurt” a bit but light needs to shine on the dust that has collected in these vital, God-ordained institutions. We can’t wait for a ”relational spring clean”. We must determine to get our families in order. My wife has challenged me as of late. She has challenged me to consider if our children (especially our oldest who are 12 and 13) are “in subjection with all gravity” (1 Timothy 3:4). I cannot ignore this challenge. I must embrace some “relational Spring cleaning” as a father. I encourage you to do the same. Start dating your spouse again. Start leading your family again. Press in and make the hard decisions. Trust God through it all and finish your course emptied, like a sprinter who is totally exhausted once they cross the finish line.
Find a verse that encourages you as a follower of Christ. Seek out a verse that encourages you as a parent. Hold on to a verse that encourages you as a husband or wife. Trust God’s word in the hard times. Get real, get raw, and get right with God. It’s time for a “relation Spring clean”. We are praying for your marriages and families. Please pray for mine.
