6 Incredible Things That Happen When You Bring God into Your Family

There are two things we can all probably agree on: 1). Family is important and 2). Our families can always improve. Over the past few decades it seems like the family has come under attack from all directions. Here’s what Pew Research reported in 2014: Fewer than half (46 percent) of U.S. kids younger than 18 years of age are living in a home with two married heterosexual parents in their first marriage.

Think about that for a moment: if you’re a kid living in a traditional home with two parents still living together in their first marriage, you’re the exception. You’re the weird kid. The normal kids today are the ones growing up in broken homes. And the term ‘broken’ reminds us that families don’t function best outside of God’s plan. So what happens when we bring God into our families? Here are six incredible ways that your family can be transformed when God gets in the middle of it.

Priorities

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Jesus teaches (Matthew 22:37) that love of God is our most important priority, which means that we should love God more than even our families:

“Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” Matthew 10:37

Here’s why this is important: when we put God first, everything else will fall into place. When God is first in your life, everything will come into order. If God isn’t first in your life, nothing will come into order. Because we naturally love our families, if we’re not careful we’ll actually put them ahead of God. Maybe you’ve put so much hope in your spouse that you’ve turned them into a Messiah. You expect your spouse to give you what only Jesus can give you. That’s a recipe for disappointment.

Maybe you love your kids so much that you’ve actually turned them into an idol. This happens too often: kids who can do no wrong, who get everything they could ever want, never have to face any consequences. All because the parents love them so much. But if you idolized your kids to the point where you spoil them rotten and turn them into raving narcissists, is that what’s best for them? No. That just raises self-centered jerks that the rest of us have to deal with. Thanks for that. When you love Jesus more and place Him first, everything else will fall into place.

Peace

One of the many things that Jesus promises us is His peace. Here’s what Jesus tells His disciples in John 14:

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives.” John 14:27

Following Jesus fills you with peace. Is peace important for a family’s health? Absolutely! The greatest heartache in the life of your family comes when there’s an absence of peace: when kids are fighting, when spouses can’t get along, when there’s nothing but turmoil. If you grew up in a house where you felt like you were walking on eggshells the entire time, then you know what it’s like to live in a house without peace. When you love Jesus more and place Him first, He’ll give you peace, which will benefit you and your family.

Power

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Now, in all reality, if creating a healthy family was as simple as saying the words, “I Love Jesus,” we all would have done it a long time ago. If you really want to get into the nuts and bolts of what makes a family thrive, it’s when a family discovers the power of mutual submission. Here’s what Paul writes:

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus." Philippians 2:3-5

Here’s why that last line is important, having the same mindset as Christ Jesus. If you want to improve your family, you have to learn how to submit, how to humbly place the other members of your family above yourself. That’s how God designed it. Problem is, it goes against the very sin nature inside of us. It’s incredibly hard to submit yourself, to consider other people, even if they’re family members that you love, as more important than yourself. Under your own power it’s humanly impossible, which is why you need to the power of God.

When Paul tells husbands and wives to submit to each other and children to submit to their parents in Ephesians 5-6, it’s immediately after Paul talks about the importance of being filled with the Spirit. You’re not strong enough on your own to submit. You’re too selfish, and your sinful tendencies are too powerful. That’s why you need the Spirit of God. So when you love Jesus more, you discover a power strong enough to help you do the hard work of humbling yourself and submitting. It only comes through the Spirit of Jesus in your life.

Persuasion

You can do all four of the first points, you can get your priorities right, be present and be filled with peace and power, but you can’t make your spouse change if they don’t want to. If your child wants to rebel, that’s ultimately their choice.

If you’ve been in a family long enough, you’ve come to the point where you’ve realized that only God can change your family. And that’s what persuasion is all about. When you love Jesus more, you become an inspiration to those around you because you’re showing them a better way to live, and you being filled with the Spirit literally affects those around you.

If you go walk into your house after work angry and resentful, it will affect your family much differently than if you enter your home happy and joyful. Jesus talks about this principle in Matthew 5:

“Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16

Prosperity

If you have a family that needs improving, and if you were asked what you’d like to see improved, you’d most likely say things like:

“I wish we got along more.”

“I wish we were more loving.”

“I wish we laughed together, played together.”

This is what the Bible says happens when you love Jesus more. When you lean into your relationship with God and pursue Him above all others, like a tree planted in the ground your life will naturally produce fruit. Read you this list and see if this isn’t exactly what you wish you saw more of in your family:

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." Galatians 5:22-23

Could anyone use a little more of that in their family? Love Jesus more.