15 May Honor Father and Mother (Part 1)
“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.” – Exodus 20:12
Q: What is the fifth commandment?
A: You shall honor your father and your mother, so that you will be well and live long on the earth.
What does this mean?
Because we worship and love God, we shouldn’t ignore or anger our parents, but we should honor, obey, love, and think highly of them.
Do you know what it means to honor someone? It means to highly respect or to esteem someone. It means that you think highly of them and speak well of them. It means that you listen well to them and respond to their wishes.
Why do you think God would want children to act this way towards their parents? One of the reasons is that when you honor your parents it shows that you love and honor God as well. If you can’t love, listen to, and obey your parents, it would also be easy to not love, listen to, or obey God. God views your relationship with your parents as a reflection or mirror image of your relationship to God. Just like God loves us and wants what is best for us, he tells his children how to live through his words. Think about your relationship with you parents. They also want to do this. They want what it best for you, and they tell you how to live through their words.
To be sure, your parents are not God, but they love you the best they can and want to repent when they fail. They need Jesus just like you do but it is important to remember that their authority over you is a good, loving, and right authority that God has placed in your life for your blessing. When you honor them, you honor God.
Consider Ephesians 6:1 which says, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.”
- What are some ways that you could honor your parents in the next few days?
- How do your parents do a good job leading, loving, and guiding you?
- Why do you think God wants you to honor your parents?
Prayer
Our Father, thank you that you give us parents who love us and provide for us. Help us to honor you in the way that we relate to them. May we see their authority as a means to our blessing and may a submissive listening and learning be true of our relationship. Thank you that you remind us of your loving authority in our lives through our parents. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
