A Family Prepared Pt 1

TimeWatch Editorial
June 20, 2017

The condition of things around us today, demonstrates a kind of challenge to those of us who love the Lord and who need to develop the kind of strength that will withstand all difficulties. The relevance of the question asked in the book of Romans, chapter eight, beginning at verse thirty-five therefore, demands an answer.

Romans 8:35 - Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? [Shall] tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

Romans 8:36 - As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the daylong; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

Romans 8:37 - Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

Romans 8:38 - For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

Romans 8:39 - Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Endurance is a necessary quality in the lives of those who look forward to the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In spite of our flaws and our mistakes, the promise is sure that he will restore us if we surrender to him. That surrender must be complete and unwavering. However, one of the elements that can seriously affect our preparedness is the condition of the family today. We have taken the home far too lightly. We have concentrated on the church and the growth of the size of the congregation, and for the most part ignored the development of true character in the lives of those who have come into the faith. we have not carefully considered our choices, our marriages, our lifestyles our homes. Listen to how the book Adventist Home puts it on page 341.

Jesus came to our world to rectify mistakes and to restore the moral image of God in man. Wrong sentiments in regard to marriage had found a place in the minds of the teachers of Israel. They were making of none effect the sacred institution of marriage. Man was becoming so hardhearted that he would for the most trivial excuse separate from his wife, or, if he chose, he would separate her from the children and send her away. This was considered a great disgrace and was often accompanied by the most acute suffering on the part of the discarded one. {Ellen White, “The Adventist Home” page 341.1}

Let me be clear that Christ did not come to destroy your family, but rather to help you re-evaluate your understanding of its true goals. God can do for you that which you cannot do for yourself. I am sure that you have heard that before, but you have perhaps applied it incorrectly. So let us restate it. God can do for you; to you what you cannot do for yourself, so that the family you share today becomes the family he desires you to have. The very first miracle he performed is an indication, a further endorsement of the importance of the institution.

Christ came to correct these evils, and His first miracle was wrought on the occasion of the marriage. Thus He announced to the world that marriage when kept pure and undefiled is a sacred institution. {Ellen White, “The Adventist Home” page 341.1}

Perhaps a few more statistics regarding the effects of broken marriages might be appropriate right here.

Let’s take a look at some of the Physical effects involved

• Between children of divorced parents there are relatively more cases of injury, asthma, headaches and speech defects than among children whose parents have remained married. (Dawson -Family Structure and Children's Health and Well Being- National Health Interview Survey on Child Health, Journal of Marriage and Family)

• Children of divorced parents are fifty percent more likely to develop health problems than children in two parent families. (Angel, Worobey, -Single Motherhood and Children's Health.)

• Children that are living with both biological parents are 20 to 35 percent physically healthier than children from broken homes. (Dawson,-Family Structure and Children's Health and Well-being -Journal of Marriage and the Family-)

• Most molested children come from single-parent households or are the children of drug users. (Los Angeles Times 16 September 1985 The Garbage Generation)
  

• A child in a female-headed home is 10 times more likely to be physically hurt or murdered. (The Legal Beagle, July 1984, -The Garbage Generation)
  

Then there is the effect upon the children’s relationships with their peers

• Children divorce statistics indicate that children of divorced parents are four times more likely to report relational problems with peers and friends than children whose parents have kept their marriages intact. (Tysse, Burnett, -Moral Dilemmas of Early Adolescents of Divorced and Intact Families-. Journal of Early Adolescence 1993)

• Children of divorce tend to be more aggressive toward others. This is especially the case for boys. (Emery, Marriage, Divorce and Children's Adjustment, 1988)
  

Suicide statistics about children and divorce

• (Adult) children of divorce are almost twice as likely to attempt suicide than children from normal homes. (Velez-Cohen, - Suicidal Behavior and Ideation in a Community Sample of Children -Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 1988)
  

High School dropout statistics about children and divorce

• The high school dropout rate of children of divorced parents is roughly two times higher than that of children of which the parents did not divorce. (McLanahan, Sandefur, -Growing Up With a Single Parent: What Hurts, What Helps- Harvard University Press 1994)

So if you are being challenged right now in your family situation, remember this.

The Word of the eternal God is our guide. Through this Word we have been made wise unto salvation. This Word is ever to be in our hearts and on our lips. "It is written" is to be our anchor. Those who make God's Word their counselor realize the weakness of the human heart and the power of the grace of God to subdue every unsanctified, unholy impulse. Their hearts are ever prayerful, and they have the guardianship of holy angels. When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of God lifts up for them a standard against him. There is harmony in the heart; for the precious, powerful influences of truth bear sway. {Amazing Grace, page 262.3}

This is a serious matter; A time to be ready, Let us be ready.

Cameron A. Bowen