We’ve each been given a mission to bring more life and goodness into the world – advancing God’s kingdom of light in a dark world. But God has also given us a relational responsibility and the effectiveness of our ministry is dependent on our willingness to live with peace and understanding toward others, particularly those in our own house. Our prayers, and, in turn, our ministry are hindered when we don’t.
To be sure, we won’t get along with everyone. But we have a special responsibility toward those in our house. As such, our work and calling can never be completely divorced from our home life.
While we lead our families by faithfully committing to the work God has given us to do – setting the example for them to follow, we cannot neglect the wellbeing of our families as we do so. And this remains true regardless of how noble our calling might be.
This means anniversaries and birthdays, late night chats, just spending time together, and the like all need to be given their due honor as a way to actively love and care for those in our life.
It’s not love, or effective leadership, to simply push our agenda onto others without caring for their heart and the things important to them.
Of course, this is not to neglect God’s call for our life either. But it’s helpful to consider our home life whenever our outward focus seems to be hindered.
To live with understanding requires us to actively participate in our home life. We must put in the sweat equity as husbands and fathers in the mundane, everyday aspects of our life together to have the full impact God created us to have in the world.
In the end, you cannot neglect the heart of your wife and kids and expect to be effective in your ministry, whatever the work God has called you to do. Give special attention to cultivating your home life so that your prayers and ministry are not hindered.
Photo by Eldar Nazarov on Unsplash
