Thursday, November 15, 2007

We Owe It To Our Children

Today I submitted a letter to the editor in the Grants Pass Daily Courier. It's an experiment. Since local citizens openly opine and moralize on their favorite issues, I figured, why not me? Let the conversation with the culture begin.

We Owe It To Our Children

Family restoration is one of the most urgent needs of our day. As the family goes, so goes the nation. The home is the foundation of faith and virtue, and when the family crumbles, the entire structure of society is at risk. Today divorce and dysfunction are so common as to appear normal. Is it any wonder that a nation of broken vows and broken homes has produced so many broken contracts and broken laws and broken lives.

But here’s a note of optimism. It’s never too late for parents to turn their hearts toward home. A spark of conscience may yet ignite the hearts of fathers, and prompt them to pledge their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor to their families. Men and women may yet devote themselves to honoring their God and their country through faithfulness in marriage and a commitment to train up virtuous sons and daughters.

The prophet Malachi declared God’s promise to “turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest [He] come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction” (Malachi 4:6). Clearly, God is serious about families; and fathers in particular.

Parents, let your marriage and your family be your most important earthly project. Men and women, let your faith in Christ be the uniting focus of your home. Moms and dads, let your career path, your finances, your leisure, every choice you make be consistent with your commitments to lead and guide your children into the next generation. You owe it to your kids. You owe it to your country. You owe it to your God.

Pastor John Sleadd
Coram Deo Church