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Stepmonster
Love in Your Home Print E-mail
Love in Your Home
Paige Becnel
 
Take a few moments to ponder these questions:
How deep is the love in your home?
Does a spirit of blessing others exist in your home?
Does compassion for others flow freely?
Do you love your stepchildren as your own?


To help you answer these questions truthfully and accurately, let us look at some "scenes" that exemplify love.

Scene 1: Imagine a young couple who enjoys every moment of time they spend together. On a Saturday afternoon they decide to go on a picnic by a nearby lake. A special lunch is packed, and all that really matters that day is that they are together. Sitting on a blanket next to the lake, they stare into each other's eyes, hold hands, share their hearts with each other and begin to plan their lives together. Money and stuff is not even an issue.

Scene 2: Next, imagine a stepfather coming home from an out-of-town business trip and as he pulls into the driveway to unload his car, he finds the driveway blocked by his stepdaughter's car. His mood momentarily goes "south", but later that day he washes his stepdaughter's car before she gets home.

Scene 3: A family has two children, Jane, a 12-year-old daughter, and Josh, a 5-year-old son. The family learns that Jane has leukemia. The doctor tells the parents that Jane needs a blood transfusion from a perfectly matched donor, and their son Josh may be a good candidate. Josh is tested and found to be a perfect match. The father goes into Josh's bedroom that night and asks him if he would give Jane a blood transfusion so she could live. Josh asks if he can think about it and let them know in the morning.
At breakfast the next morning, Josh said he would give her his blood. Later that day they go to the hospital and Josh & Jane are hooked up for a direct blood transfusion. After about 10 minutes, Josh's father goes over to Josh and asks him how he is doing. Josh said that he was all right, and then asked, "when will I start to die?"

Scene 4: Consider a man who was sent by God to demonstrate the immeasurable love that God has for mankind. His death was to be the way for people to obtain eternal life, as well as to obtain more abundant life on earth. He spent his entire life serving others. As a result, he never married and he did not have a home of his own. His goal in life was to meet, teach, and serve as many people as possible during his lifetime.
Yet his display of love was rejected by most. He was falsely accused of doing wrong and was sentenced to death.
As planned by God, this man was nailed to a cross, and as his life blood drained out of him, he cried out to God, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." (Luke 23: 34) He even forgave those who were in the process of killing him.

Each of these scenes displays a few of the many facets and depths of love. Let's parallel these scenes to the great love that God has for us.
As in scene 1, God desires an intimate relationship with you. He wants you to stare into His eyes, hold His spiritual hand, read His eternal Word, share your heart with Him and to learn of the awesome plan He has for your life.
Jeremiah 29: 11 says, "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

As in scene 2, God will get upset with some things that we do, but He always forgives us because of the deep love He has for us.
Psalm 30: 5 reads, "For His anger lasts only a moment, but His favor lasts a lifetime."

As in scene 3, God has already given us His very best! He sent His Son Jesus to be our Savior, Lord and friend. As Josh did, Jesus held nothing back. He laid down His life for us so we could obtain eternal life with God Our Father. As a result, we are able to become Children of God, and joint heirs with Jesus Christ.
John 3: 16 says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,[1] that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

As in scene 4, even today God desires to touch our lives in many ways. Our heavenly Father is such a good God. He desires the best for us. Our greatest dream is God's smallest thought for us. In Isaiah, the prophet spoke of the reason Jesus was to come.
Isaiah 61: 1-3 reads, "The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon Me, because the Lord has anoint Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.

In Ephesians Chapter 5, there is instruction to the husband and wife that compares the love in a marriage & family with the love that Jesus Christ has for the church.
We have responsibility toward our spouse and all children in our home. That responsibility can be summed up as LIVING, INVOLVING, SHARING, CARING, DREAMING AND SERVING TOGETHER.
God ordained the family to be a place of love and close, intimate relationship.
There needs to be intimacy.
There needs to be respect for each other and the children.
There needs to be commitment to each other and the children.
There needs to be common dreams and goals.
There needs to be a good quantity and quality of family time.
Family members need to be living life together.
Family members need to be serving others outside your home.

Take the lead! Your daily life decisions will always influence those around you.
Let God's love for you and your family run deep in your heart!
Pursue new levels of relationship in your home!
Your spouse and children will follow your lead!
 

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