The Elusive Gospel Centered Home

The following blog is taken from the Wretched Newsletter available at Wretchedradio.com.

Pithy is good. Pithy is punchy, memorable and seemingly attainable. So here is a pithy statement for you: create a Gospel-centered home.


Badabing-badaboom. Pithy.

While that is a wonderfully solid Biblical admonition, the application is exceedingly difficult. Why? Because we fail so often.

The Gospel-centered home is a place where mom and dad don’t carp at each other because they remember that they are two sinners who have been forgiven much. When they are tempted to shoot that secret missile at their spouse, they hold fire because they remember that this is the person God has given them to run the race of faith.

The neighbors of the Gospel-centered home never hear shouts of frustration from your house. The children of a Gospel-centered home are corrected in love, not anger, as the father explains that this is a small taste of the consequence of not believing the Gospel.

Sounds sweet, doesn’t it? The challenge is to actually create that type of household.

So, how do you build a Gospel-centered home? Let me suggest you need to start with a Gospel-centered life. Before you preach to your spouse and children, preach to yourself. What does that sermon sound like? “God has graciously pulled ME out of the sewer of my own depravity when He saved me. Jesus has purchased this sinful worm with His own blood and now He has graciously allowed me the joy and responsibility of a spouse and children. I will strive to treat them the same way I have been treated in hopes that they too will experience the Gospel.” Only when you preach that sermon to yourself every day can you rightly preach to your family.

Will your house suddenly become a perfect little Gospel-centered oasis? Nope. You and your spouse and your kids are going to blow it every single day, multiple times a day. Does that mean you should give up? Absolutely not. You never stop failing and forgiving and being forgiven. Just like the Gospel.
 
If you like what you read, please subscribe via RSS or E-mail for free today. If you have some feedback, please leave a comment below. All comments are welcome.