Family Life Revealed

I have been doing a lot of thinking about the economy as of late, as I trust that many of you have.  The United States government has been doing a lot to step in and try to solve so many issues.  Issues with health care, unemployment, etc.  And that is frustrating.  No, I am not frustrating that the government is providing those services.  I am saddened that they even need to.  You know why they need to?  It is because of us.  Christian, I am speaking to you.  I am speaking to me.  I am speaking to both those who request government services, just as I am speaking to those who don’t need them.

To those who have plenty, help out your family.  Start there.  If you have a family member that needs anything, help them out.  Do everything in your power to help them stand on their own feet.  Once your family is standing strong, begin to reach out further.  Are people in your church hurting?  Help them.  Don’t just give them material possessions, but teach them.  Don’t just teach them, but walk with them.  Don’t just walk with them, but pray for them.  Don’t just pray for them, but provide for them.  Teach them to do the same once they are standing on their own.

Brother, are you one that needs help?  Are you hurting?  Seek out help from your church.  We need to stop acting like everything is fine.  We need to quit being afraid to tell our fellow brothers and sisters the truth.  Seek prayer, seek guidance, seek out work from members in the church.  And when you are standing on your own, the best way to thank those who helped you is to actively seek out those that are in the position that you used to be.  Help them.  Guide them.  Comfort them.  Clothe them.  Feed them.

Check out Matthew 25.  Is your brother hungry?  Feed him.  Is your brother thirsty?  Give him something to drink.  Is your brother naked?  Clothe him.

You know what will happen when God’s people begin to take care of each other?  The world will notice.  Not only will they see the love.  They will actually feel the love.  You will see jobs open up.  You will see the economy thrive.  You will see glory be given to God.  You will see.

My wife and I have started looking to possibly purchase a house.  This process can be so exciting.  For me?  It has gotten me frustrated.  I am not frustrated with the prices of homes, the quality of homes, or really anything to do with homes, however.  I am frustrated with what our society has become.  You see, it has become the norm to take out a loan for 5-10x your yearly income.  But it gets worse.  When you do the calculations you find that the home that you “bought” for $180k, you really just committed to paying $442k.  Why has this become the norm?  Why is it that we are so desperate to “own” a home that we sell our integrity, sell what we know is right, to get it?

But that is not the root of my frustration.  My frustration is just this- we have come to the point where we value money and possessions far more than we value fellow brothers and sisters.  We see the people among us hurting, desperately trying to pay their bills; losing thier homes, their cars, their jobs.  And what is our encouragement to them?  “It’s just the economy, it will pick up.  I am praying for you, brother.”  Now, I am not one to swear, but that is total BS.  People, wake up!  If you think for one moment that simply (and only) praying for someone is what you are called to do, then greatly deceived you are (I speak to those who have possessions, not to those who are in dire need).

To those who own a home: God has blessed you.  Use what He has given you to bless others and bring Him glory.  To those without a home: Do not sell your soul, your integrity to get what man says you need.  For it is God alone who gives to his children what they need.  Your Father hears your prayers, and he values YOU.

So we must learn.  We must seek after the truth.  We must know true riches are.  We must desire wisdom.  And until we learn to value our brothers and sisters beyond even our own welfare, then I say this to you: “What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?” Reference

My daughter, Autumn Joy Hansen, was born on November 28, 2009.  That day my heart learned once again what it was to love.  But that love was not yet complete.  You see, love is not just feeling completely passionate.  In that moment I would have given anything for my daughter, everything for my wife.  But the problem was, I didn’t have any clue as to what that surrender, what that love would look like.

While I was a student at Simpson University, there was a quote on a board in one of the dorms.  It went something like this- “How can you die for me if you are not willing to live for me?”  That one hit me hard.  So often we think that dying a physical death is the ultimate expression of love.  What I am finding more and more is that dying to one’s self is what love is all about. That is not to say that dying so that one might live is not an expression of love, but it must come out of the willingness to live.

But what then does it mean to love my wife, to love my daughter, to love my neighbor?  For the answer I turned to three books- First and foremost I turned to the Bible.  Second I turned to To Train up a Child, and third I turned to Facedown.  There is a lot to be learned from in the Old Testament, but for this particular study I started in the Gospels, namely Matthew and John.  Jesus, speaking to his disciples before leaving them, states:

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”

The challenge brought forth here is incredible.  About to give his life, Christ defines love.  Love is giving not what only what one wants (sometimes not even what one wants), but what one needs.  Love is challenging others to say what they mean, and mean what they say.  Love is to give up all for the sake of the Heavenly Father, for the sake of your neighbor.  Love is giving what you do not yet have.  Love is doing what is right.  Love is to discipline, to correct, to rebuke.  Love is to have peace.  Love is to have joy.  Love is to be humble.  Love is to be holy.  And when the time has come, love is to lay down one’s life.