Our scripture this morning is Ephesians 6:2-3 (NLT).
“Honor your father and mother.” This is the first commandment with a promise: If you honor your father and mother, “things will go well for you, and you will have a long life on the earth.”
God gave His newly freed people the Ten Commandments as a guide to their relationship with Him and each other. They are basic statements about treating each other well and honoring our Creator. In this passage from Ephesians we hear “this is the first commandment with a promise”, our covenant with Him to respect our earthly parents.
We know that this is sometimes a difficult obligation. Some have had tenuous relationships with parents, some have lost parents, some never knew their parents. God knows all these situations and grieves with us, but still calls us to love them as He loves us. If Jesus told us to love even our enemies, how much more are we to love the humans who brought us into the world?
Paul wrote this to the Ephesians to show that God’s love transcends even our earthly relationships. Whether these connections are easy, difficult or non-existent, He calls us to follow His commandment to honor them. We can be blessed by our obedience no matter what our situation.
Gracious God, loving each other, even those closest to us, can be difficult. Bless us to be the loving disciples Jesus taught us to be in every situation. Amen.
