By Design, Pt. 1

This week in our devotions, I will write about the creation and importance of the family.

By Design, Pt. 1

"Then God said, 'Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."

(Genesis 1:26)

This week in our devotions, I will write about the creation and importance of the family. In the church I serve, Great Hills Baptist Church in Austin, TX, we are focusing on the family this fall. The title of our series of messages is "By Design". Like these messages, our devotions this week will seek to affirm the traditional family unit as well as offer words of encouragement for families as they live in an environment certainly not as friendly as in the past.

Everyone knows we are in a pivotal election year in our country. I invite you to check out the Texas Values Faith, Family, and Freedom Forum held at our church September 13 and 14. I will open the conference in prayer and also serve on one of the discussion panels. There is a movement well underway in our nation that seeks to undermine and remove what Scripture says about families, parenting, gender, and sexual identity. During this conference, you will hear from those who seek to affirm what God affirms in Scripture. You can learn more about the conference here: https://txvalues.org

My aim in this week's devotions is not polemical but apologetical. Polemics are strong (sometimes harsh) rebukes, and while there will be some of this, it is not the primary focus. Rather, we will seek to affirm what Scripture says about family matters and give a defense (apologia is the Greek word) in light of the current challenges to the basic bedrock of society, which is the family.

The vast majority of people on the planet affirm what the Bible teaches about the family, even if they dismiss the Scriptures as being divinely inspired. Other cultures and religions worldwide affirm the homogeneous unit of a family, consisting of a biological male married to a biological female having children and raising them in their homes. Some cultures expand their views of the family, but not in the way the radical left does in our country. The positive expansion of the family includes things like grandparents and extended family helping raise children. It does take a village to raise kids these days! But my concept of village people is vastly different than what some hold. Part of a healthy village would be a local church and the civic community pitching in and supplementing the true heroes of every family, and those are the mom and the dad.

The Lord loves you and your family. He created you and has a perfect design and will for your life. As we will explore more tomorrow, the family is a big deal to God. He created the concept and desires to bless each family unit as they turn to Him for guidance.