How Do We Create a Healthy Home?
At the end of his Gospel, Matthew noted three key areas of responsibility that we have as disciplemakers: the home, church, and community. I’m convinced these areas are crucial to obeying Jesus’s commands in Matthew 28:19-20. Check them out for yourself below:
“And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’”
Now, let’s focus on the first area of responsibility—the home. I’m convinced the home is our first responsibility. Healthy homes create healthy churches. Healthy churches create healthy communities.
How do we create a healthy home?
There are many directions I could go with this. In fact, you’re probably already mulling over books, sermons, experiences, challenges, etc. in your mind at the mention of what it means to shape a healthy, Christ-centered home. In this space, however, I want to go back to an observation from the Old Testament made about the ancient disciplemaker, Ezra. While not specifically about the home life, his model offers awesome insight to parents looking for a healthy rhythm:
“Now Ezra had determined in his heart to study the law of the Lord, obey it, and teach its statutes and ordinances in Israel.” - Ezra 7:10 CSB
There’s an endless supply of parenting advice out there, isn’t there? Some helpful and some not so much. I think Ezra is on to something here. In fact, at Plethos, we’ve adopted his model large-scale in everything we do:
Learn It. (Study the Word of God)
Live it. (Obey the Word of God)
Pass it on. (Teach the Word of God)
But I also know that if you and I adopt these three habits into our daily lives, the culture of our home will slowly shift from its current state to one that more and more resembles Christ’s heart for his people. Our homes will organically display the disciplemaking culture we desire to live out. But, like anything worthwhile, it will take patient endurance and Gospel grit.
And because Learn It, Live It, and Pass It on is a lifelong journey, let’s accept God’s grace as we dive in and lean into Plethos’ five values:
Take imperfect action.
Make it better.
Consistency always wins.
Learn from others.
Less is more.
So, how are you living the Ezra rhythm of life? What are your strengths? Where can you grab some ideas on how to grow in the weaker areas of discipling those at home?
What is One Thing God is highlighting for you today?
May you go by faith through grace and take intentional action. Amen.
-Jedidiah Haas
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