The Greatest Commandment pt. 3: Storge

Gravetop Church

Main Idea: Family can mean a lot of different things to people depending on their upbringing and current circumstances. It can feel like a safe place to some and like a place to keep your guard up for others. For some people’s current place in life, it is because of the support of their family, but for others it’s possible despite their family. But what is true no matter the family is that we all have some type of family.

Today we’re going to talk about love in regard to our families. We’re going to unpack reasonable levels of stewardship for our part in our families. We’re going to learn what it means to accept our family members for who they are. And we’re going to look at our time and attention being the most valuable thing that we’re able to give to our families.

This is so important to talk about because no matter who you are or what your upbringing was like, family is something that we all either get to experience or have to experience. But so often we either don’t fully appreciate what we do have or we have a hard time peace in adulthood because of what we had. There is a greater peace and purpose that we’re able to find when we realize our pivotal role in loving our families.

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1. There’s No One Like Family [YOU ARE A STEWARD OVER HOW YOU TREAT YOUR OWN FAMILY]

One powerful aspect about family is that they are unique to you as an individual. Out of the billions of people in the world, you got these ones. It’s easy to write off your level of responsibility over them because of how familiar we become with them. But consider that God designed the family in a way that no matter the role, the family members are responsible over each other in the way that they treat each other according to their roles.

(Ephesians 6:1-4)

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2. Family Can Be Complicated [YOU’RE ABLE TO ENJOY YOUR FAMILY ONCE YOU’RE ABLE TO ACCEPT THEM]

One of the most common obstacles to overcome in regard to family relationships is our expectations for the different individuals and their roles to us. Whether it’s wishing that your parents were more like this or that your kid was more like that, we become most frustrated when it seems like these different family members don’t change. But at the end of the day, it’s not your role to control them or what they do. They are their own person and they have to learn to make their own decisions because you will never truly be able to do that for them.

(John 21:21-22; John 13:34-35)

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3. Time For Family Time [THERE’S NOTHING MORE VALUABLE THAN YOUR TIME]

While we can get caught up and even overwhelmed by all of the different ways in which we can love, help and appreciate our family, the most important and valuable thing that you can ever give them is your time. No amount of gifts, favors or gestures can compare with the simplicity of time spent. And at the end of our lives, that time spent will be all we care about.

(John 9:4-5; Proverbs 27:1; Colossians 4:5; Ecclesiastes 3:1-2; 2 Corinthians 6:1-2

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