I love those passages in Scripture that leave me thinking, Man…what a bold, gusty, down right studly move! Whether it’s Shadrach, Mechach and Abednego refusing to bow when the music played, Jesus making a whip to drive out the money-changers, or Paul continuing to preach the gospel despite receiving beating after beating, these are the accounts that challenge me to intentionally live out my Christian faith.
One of my favorite such stories is found in Nehemiah 3-4. In these chapters the prophet Nehemiah has returned with his men to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Even in the midst of potential enemy opposition, they kept right on working…a tool in one hand and a weapon in the other (Nehemiah 4:16-18). Bold indeed! Nothing was going to keep them from completing their mission, including the threat of death. I imagine if they had a theme song it would be akin to Tom Petty’s Stand My Ground.
I bring this 2,400 year old story up now as a representative picture of this blog series. Let me explain. The story of Nehemiah’s wall-building has always stood in my mind as an example to faithfully and obediently live out the mission given to us by God. And for those who are married and/or have children, His word has much to say about the mission of marriage and parenting! To that end I wanted to write a series focused on building a home culture of emotional safety and joy. Specifically, we’ll explore what this culture looks like in terms of attitudes, values, and language. The first half of this series will focus on building this culture within marriage while the second half will focus on this building in the realm of parenting.
Like Nehemiah and crew, it is my prayer we be dedicated to the mission of building up our marriages and families, no matter the cost. Now, lest we be overwhelmed by the magnitude of this mission, let’s not forget this one truth: we don’t have to do this alone. Just as God was with Nehemiah protecting him and giving him the strength, tenacity, and perseverance needed to get the job done, so He will be with us. In a culture that is so diametrically opposed to the biblical model of family, there is no better time to fiercely build our homes than now. I ask that you join me in the “Welcome Home” series as we study God’s word concerning family living. Let’s pick up our tools- and our weapons- that we may build and defend what God has so graciously entrusted to us.
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My friend introduced me to your blog. I’m excited to read your words.