Love The Family Glue
Theme: To show that the most important ingredient in a family is Love.
Text: 1 Corinthians 13
1 Corinthians 13:4 ¶ Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, 5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; 6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; 7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. 8 ¶ Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. 9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. 11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. 13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.
If I were asked to define the family I would say it is, Family is “The place where you are loved no matter who you are, what you have done, or what you look like.” Family is a place of security. It is a place where after a hard day of work you can come home to the restfulness of the family. It is a place most of all of love. If a house has a foundation in the Lord then it must have its roof as being love. Roof as a shelter from this world The family is a place of security. It is a place where people know you. It is a place called home, “Home Sweet Home”.
Love is patient or “suffereth long”
Love in the family is patient. It is patient with another’s faults. It is patient with each others mistakes. The blinders are lifted when we get married. For a few months and sometimes years we still have the air of honeymoon in the home but soon we get used to one another and then we see each others faults.
Love is being patient beyond these faults.
Love is kind
Kindness is going beyond the call of duty. We all have roles that we fit in the family. They may be God-given roles or roles that we have chosen for ourselves. Yet love helps us to go beyond our roles. Roles helps us to step in and do another’s chores. Love helps us to take a load off of one another. One example used is to step in a do the dishes once in a while. And if you do this too often then find something else. Kindness is doing more than the expected it is helping.
Love does not envy
Love realizes that marriage and family is not a competition and it is not a matter of who wins but what brings joy and peace to the other members.
Love is not boastful or proud “vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up”
Pride keeps us from admitting our mistakes. Love helps us to say, “I am sorry” sometimes.
Love is not rude “behave itself unseemly”
Many times in a family, and especially in a marriage, we have a tendency to take each other for granted. We even forget sometimes to say “Thank you” and “please”. But this takes away from our love.
Love is not selfish “seeketh not her own”
Love is not looking our for self. Love in a marriage realizes it is not 50/50 but 100/100 looking out for the need of the other. The same as in the family. God didn’t give the family children to show off to our friends and neighbors and to be the talk of the town. But he gave them to us to be nurtured and cared for and raised in a godly manner.
Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. (Ephesians 5:22
So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. (Ephesians 5:28
Love is not irritable or touchy “is not easily provoked”
Love respects the needs of others. A wife that is afraid to say something so as to set off her husband will eventually loose love and respect for her spouse. As we know it works both ways.
Love does not hold grudges (keeps no records of wrongs) or “thinketh no evil”
Love forgives and does its best forget. Love in a family does not keep a record of wrongs. One thing that will hurt your marriage is to remind your spouse about the mistake they made (especially in an argument) 50 years ago. It that has been forgiven then it has no place in the conversation.
Love rejoices in the truth “rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth”
Love in family is looking for truth even if it is admitting to a mistake that has been made. Truth is truth and you hold to too truth then you gain a lot more respect.
Love protects, trusts and hopes “beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things”
Love is not looking for failure but looking for achievement. Love is hoping for the best.
Love goes on forever “endureth all things”
Love lasts for ever. Eternal and true.
Know how to read your spouses or child’s love and do your best to fulfill it.
People express love and take love different ways. If your child does this then we must learn to adjust. We must learn to listen and observe. It is not all about how right you are but remember this is looking out for the other.
• Words of affirmation “spoken word”
• Quality time
• Physical touch “holding hands, pat on the back”
• Receiving gifts
• Acts of service
From Gary Chapman’s book Five Signs of a Functional Family
I like what Hubert Seals says in his book Spiritual Renewal in Your Family about the way we love.
He says that to produce closeness and kinship in family we need to:
1. Say Love
2. Do Love
3. Write Love
4. Keep Love
5. Listen for Love
6. Live Love
Conclusion
If there ever has been a glue that holds the family together it would be love. One day many fathers and mothers are going to wake up and realize that that child never wanted all those things that they gave to them. All they wanted was love. All they wanted was the security of a home where when they were having a hard time at school they could come home to a safe haven. When that husband or wife had a hard time on the job they could come home to peace of the home.
Oh how important love is in the home.
Love endureth all things. You can have many things in a family but you can’t have a family without love. Which one of these areas do you need to work on to express your love better?
