God's instrument of choice
The potential for a true change of our culture lies with those people who renew and transform the family, because the family is God's instrument of choice for transforming a culture. Only through the transformation of the family can a society be restructured to agree with Christian order and the rule of God's law.
-Teaching the Trivium, pg. 33
posted by Crystal Paine at 11:03 AM
6 Comments:
When I read that passage several months ago, preparing for my homeschooling endeavors...I thought how true is that. We could try to force a change by making laws, but real change comes from within the family. The Bluedorn's made a good point here.
Blessings,
Sommer
I understand what this author is getting at, but I wonder how his proposal jives with the fact of Pentecost? Christ promised that the Holy Spirit would transform the world that Christ died to save (the pagan world of the time was full of solid family values)... and thus the Spirit descended on a group of formerly disjointed individuals to form the Church, which Paul describes as the "family" of God. Surely then this family of God must be understood to be God's "instrument of choice" far above and beyond any human institution... (?)
MM: Without strong families, there will be no strong churches. The family is not a human institution, but a God-ordained institution. Yes, I believe that the church is a very important institution, but without families, we have no church. There must be strong families for strong churches and there must be strong churches for a strong nation.
Crystal,
In respectful response, and with all due reverence for the family as a beautiful part of God's creation: historically, the Church has outlasted and outlived the fall of nations and the demise of families. It will always be this way; consider the Roman empire, one of the strongest and most family-oriented nations in history. After the return of Christ, the Church will enter into glory, but the institution of families will be no more- in Heaven they are neither married nor given in marriage.
There certainly has been, and can be a Church without families; consider that Christ's Great Commission is to "make disciples in all the world" through conversion and baptism, without any mention of "be fruitful and multiply."
If we consider the spread of the Gospel througout the world, we see that the Gospel came first, the Church grew in response, and only AFTERWARDS do we find Christian families forming. The Church, as Christ's Bride, exists by His will and calling, not by human will or familial organization. As such, the Church forms persons and families; it is not the other way around. And as such, the Church is seen to be God's "instrument of choice."
- Best! :)
MM: You've sparked some indepth discussion between my husband and I on this so thank you for that!
I doubt you and I will ever agree on this because we have differing worldviews when it comes to the church and family.
Maybe I should try and clarify what I was getting at: I believe that Scripture is clear the family was created first. Adam and Eve in the garden were told to "be fruitful and multiply." This command and multi-generational vision is very replete in the Old Testament years before the church was established. And the importance of family and the family unit was never abolished. Therefore, I never see in Scripture where churches came first.
Secondly, it is impossible for the church to exist without families. Without family units, we have no people. Without people, we have no churches. Therefore, we must have families to have churches or the Church universal. If there are no families, the Church will die, as will the rest of society. Obviously, people will never be extinct on the earth, nevertheless, it is a valid point that we must have family units in order to have churches.
Another thing we see in Scripture is the elder were husbands and fathers. One of the requirements set forth in Scripture to be a leader in the church was that a man was a faithful leader of his home. A man or a woman was never to neglect their family for church work. From the many Scriptures on this subject, I believe that strong families played an integral part in the churches in the New Testament and they should play a very important part in churches today.
Also, as a side note, from my study, the Roman empire was one of the most perverse and immoral cultures ever. I believe the the fall of the Roman empire was directly related to the rampant immorality and sodomy.
I'd rather let this discussion rest at this. Thanks!
Crystal,
Discussion concluded, :) but cf some litterature on the reforms of Marcus Aurelius, or some of the morality speeches of Cicero or Lucretius for definitive descriptions of the Roman view of family life. I think you may be surprised.
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