Family: Blessed, Broken, Braced.
"Haven't you read," he replied, "that at the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female,' … So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate." (Matt 19:4-6)
Family is the great opportunity available to every human being to learn basic but most crucial social sciences and pastoral ministry. It is true Jesus gave gifts to equip the saints for the work of ministry, but the exercising of these gifts can best begin at family level: the head of the family (usually the father) should serve as the apostle and chief shepherd, while the assistant (usually the mother) should serve as the pastor; then from this same family is where we get evangelists, prophets and teachers. When confronted by a tough question from the Pharisees, Jesus started here to relay his teaching about the story of the family institution – the journey of a family blessed, broken and later braced.
“At the beginning,” Jesus reminds that the Creator made them male and female, and immediately blessed them (Gen 1:27-28); he further reminds them of the application – what people were instructed to do and continue as the blessed way of life – that “a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh” (Gen 2:24). The creation story ends when everything is very good with human beings at the helm of God’s created things, blessed as a family.
Unfortunately, immediately then enters the devil, and the family is broken! The wife believes a lie, and the husband follows, shame and fear enter the world, they are both ashamed and afraid, the fallen husband blames the wife; then children fight (Gen 3-4) – the family is broken! Talk even of father Abraham or some neighbour near you, the pain of that brokenness is felt across the entire historical timeline in various tones and colours.
The good news is that God comes to intervene and introduce a redemption plan to brace the family just after the fall. To brace means to make a structure stronger or firmer with wood, iron, or other forms of support. No matter what has gone wrong – even in our current families – God has not given up on this foundational institution. He provides support through examples of great families like that of Isaac and Rebecca, and through sobering teachings from the prophets and from Jesus Christ as in Matthew 19. Are you a victim of a broken family? Or are you the cause of a broken family? God has not given up; in Jesus Christ we can find healing and restoration and receive a redemption that enables us to start afresh and lay better foundations.
My prayer is that God will open our eyes to see the opportunities for learning and growing in serving God through cultivating healthy families. The original blessing remains upon the family, and despite the assault that have rendered her broken, God has provided for her bracing to full and eternal restoration.
God bless you!
Rev. Eng. Emmanuel Mwesigwa – CHAPLAIN
Family: Blessed, Broken, Braced.
"Haven't you read," he replied, "that at the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female,' … So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate." (Matt 19:4-6)
Family is the great opportunity available to every human being to learn basic but most crucial social sciences and pastoral ministry. It is true Jesus gave gifts to equip the saints for the work of ministry, but the exercising of these gifts can best begin at family level: the head of the family (usually the father) should serve as the apostle and chief shepherd, while the assistant (usually the mother) should serve as the pastor; then from this same family is where we get evangelists, prophets and teachers. When confronted by a tough question from the Pharisees, Jesus started here to relay his teaching about the story of the family institution – the journey of a family blessed, broken and later braced.
“At the beginning,” Jesus reminds that the Creator made them male and female, and immediately blessed them (Gen 1:27-28); he further reminds them of the application – what people were instructed to do and continue as the blessed way of life – that “a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh” (Gen 2:24). The creation story ends when everything is very good with human beings at the helm of God’s created things, blessed as a family.
Unfortunately, immediately then enters the devil, and the family is broken! The wife believes a lie, and the husband follows, shame and fear enter the world, they are both ashamed and afraid, the fallen husband blames the wife; then children fight (Gen 3-4) – the family is broken! Talk even of father Abraham or some neighbour near you, the pain of that brokenness is felt across the entire historical timeline in various tones and colours.
The good news is that God comes to intervene and introduce a redemption plan to brace the family just after the fall. To brace means to make a structure stronger or firmer with wood, iron, or other forms of support. No matter what has gone wrong – even in our current families – God has not given up on this foundational institution. He provides support through examples of great families like that of Isaac and Rebecca, and through sobering teachings from the prophets and from Jesus Christ as in Matthew 19. Are you a victim of a broken family? Or are you the cause of a broken family? God has not given up; in Jesus Christ we can find healing and restoration and receive a redemption that enables us to start afresh and lay better foundations.
My prayer is that God will open our eyes to see the opportunities for learning and growing in serving God through cultivating healthy families. The original blessing remains upon the family, and despite the assault that have rendered her broken, God has provided for her bracing to full and eternal restoration.
God bless you!
Rev. Eng. Emmanuel Mwesigwa – CHAPLAIN
Family: Blessed, Broken, Braced.
"Haven't you read," he replied, "that at the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female,' … So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate." (Matt 19:4-6)
Family is the great opportunity available to every human being to learn basic but most crucial social sciences and pastoral ministry. It is true Jesus gave gifts to equip the saints for the work of ministry, but the exercising of these gifts can best begin at family level: the head of the family (usually the father) should serve as the apostle and chief shepherd, while the assistant (usually the mother) should serve as the pastor; then from this same family is where we get evangelists, prophets and teachers. When confronted by a tough question from the Pharisees, Jesus started here to relay his teaching about the story of the family institution – the journey of a family blessed, broken and later braced.
“At the beginning,” Jesus reminds that the Creator made them male and female, and immediately blessed them (Gen 1:27-28); he further reminds them of the application – what people were instructed to do and continue as the blessed way of life – that “a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh” (Gen 2:24). The creation story ends when everything is very good with human beings at the helm of God’s created things, blessed as a family.
Unfortunately, immediately then enters the devil, and the family is broken! The wife believes a lie, and the husband follows, shame and fear enter the world, they are both ashamed and afraid, the fallen husband blames the wife; then children fight (Gen 3-4) – the family is broken! Talk even of father Abraham or some neighbour near you, the pain of that brokenness is felt across the entire historical timeline in various tones and colours.
The good news is that God comes to intervene and introduce a redemption plan to brace the family just after the fall. To brace means to make a structure stronger or firmer with wood, iron, or other forms of support. No matter what has gone wrong – even in our current families – God has not given up on this foundational institution. He provides support through examples of great families like that of Isaac and Rebecca, and through sobering teachings from the prophets and from Jesus Christ as in Matthew 19. Are you a victim of a broken family? Or are you the cause of a broken family? God has not given up; in Jesus Christ we can find healing and restoration and receive a redemption that enables us to start afresh and lay better foundations.
My prayer is that God will open our eyes to see the opportunities for learning and growing in serving God through cultivating healthy families. The original blessing remains upon the family, and despite the assault that have rendered her broken, God has provided for her bracing to full and eternal restoration.
God bless you!