There is joy in Father's house: Family is a sanctuary of God
"Clap your hands for joy, all peoples! Praise God with loud songs." Psalm : 47
There is joy in God's presence. There is peace in God's presence. There is unity in God's presence. There is love in God's presence. There are many natural sanctuaries of God, which has the resonance, radiance, and reflection of God's presence in this world.
Among them the supreme master piece of God's creation is family. The founder,creator,provider, and protector of the family is God Himself.The first family was instituted and blessed by God in garden Eden (Genesis chapter 1). And the Lord visited the family regularly to see to their welbeing ( Genesis chapter 2). By this we can know that the presence of God was present in origination and sustaining family. Do we acknowledge the presence of God in the family? Do we understand God's presence is essential to protect and sustain the family? Do we know family is a sanctuary of God? Do we know that in marriage, it is not just about two people agreement but the third person as God's presence is essential? These are not my words but the scriptural reflections.
The love, union, understanding, unity,steadfastness, perseverance, faithfulness, and sacrifices which are essentials for a happy family comes from God's mercy and His grace. When I see the families, I thank God, because they are the image and reflection of God's love. When I see babies and children, I thank God for the sacred love behind the creation of each one of them. When I see older couples, I thank God for their faithfulness, steadfastness, and long lasting love in family.
Family is a sanctuary of God and it has every potential to be a sacred sanctuary if the man and woman acknowledge God's presence in their family. In my early childhood I was fortunate to have a rich catechism from the nun sisters. I remember vividly many stories which I heard then. One of them explains the importance of placing family under God's protection. The story goes like this. A man built a new house and invited all his friends including Jesus christ to innaugurate the house. The house was filled with relatives and friends and Jesus also arrived in time and the function was in progress with happiness and joy. In the middle of a joyful function, Devil was trying to get inside the house. The man of the house got to the door and was struggling and wrestling with devil to push him out of the door as he was an uninvited guest. He succeeded after a heavy fight and with many bruises. He was tired and got back to the function and he saw Jesus was enjoying the party with no concern to his struggle with the devil. The head of the house got so annoyed and went near Jesus and said, "Lord don't you know I was fighting with Devil and I had to struggle all along to keep Him away. Why didn't you help me?" Jesus replied, " Son I am a guest to your house. You invited me and I thought you have invited everybody comes to your door. The house is yours and the authority to manage the household is yours and I am just a guest and I am doing just my invited role. The man realized his weakness and said to Jesus, Lord from now on you are in charge of my house, and I place myself and my household under your protection." After some time the devil was trying to get inside the house, now the house was full of radiant lights and protected by heavenly angels around the house, because Jesus was in charge of the house. The devil saw this heavenly protection from far and he never attempted to break in. This is a powerful story, which I heard in my childhood, it stuck with my heart and I used to tell this story for children in confirmation and first communion classes in India as a catechism teacher. The moral of the story is this, God is the protector of the family, the family which has acknowledged God's presence in the family will have joy, faith, hope, and unity.
Prayer:
Heavenly father, I thank you for the blessing of family for this world, because it is an extension of your heavenly presence in the world to form the communities and society. Father I thank you for your love and protection for families especially for unborn children. I acknowledge your presence and your authority in the family and surrender my family to your divine protection. I pray this in Jesus name Amen!
There is joy in God's presence. There is peace in God's presence. There is unity in God's presence. There is love in God's presence. There are many natural sanctuaries of God, which has the resonance, radiance, and reflection of God's presence in this world.
Among them the supreme master piece of God's creation is family. The founder,creator,provider, and protector of the family is God Himself.The first family was instituted and blessed by God in garden Eden (Genesis chapter 1). And the Lord visited the family regularly to see to their welbeing ( Genesis chapter 2). By this we can know that the presence of God was present in origination and sustaining family. Do we acknowledge the presence of God in the family? Do we understand God's presence is essential to protect and sustain the family? Do we know family is a sanctuary of God? Do we know that in marriage, it is not just about two people agreement but the third person as God's presence is essential? These are not my words but the scriptural reflections.
The love, union, understanding, unity,steadfastness, perseverance, faithfulness, and sacrifices which are essentials for a happy family comes from God's mercy and His grace. When I see the families, I thank God, because they are the image and reflection of God's love. When I see babies and children, I thank God for the sacred love behind the creation of each one of them. When I see older couples, I thank God for their faithfulness, steadfastness, and long lasting love in family.
Family is a sanctuary of God and it has every potential to be a sacred sanctuary if the man and woman acknowledge God's presence in their family. In my early childhood I was fortunate to have a rich catechism from the nun sisters. I remember vividly many stories which I heard then. One of them explains the importance of placing family under God's protection. The story goes like this. A man built a new house and invited all his friends including Jesus christ to innaugurate the house. The house was filled with relatives and friends and Jesus also arrived in time and the function was in progress with happiness and joy. In the middle of a joyful function, Devil was trying to get inside the house. The man of the house got to the door and was struggling and wrestling with devil to push him out of the door as he was an uninvited guest. He succeeded after a heavy fight and with many bruises. He was tired and got back to the function and he saw Jesus was enjoying the party with no concern to his struggle with the devil. The head of the house got so annoyed and went near Jesus and said, "Lord don't you know I was fighting with Devil and I had to struggle all along to keep Him away. Why didn't you help me?" Jesus replied, " Son I am a guest to your house. You invited me and I thought you have invited everybody comes to your door. The house is yours and the authority to manage the household is yours and I am just a guest and I am doing just my invited role. The man realized his weakness and said to Jesus, Lord from now on you are in charge of my house, and I place myself and my household under your protection." After some time the devil was trying to get inside the house, now the house was full of radiant lights and protected by heavenly angels around the house, because Jesus was in charge of the house. The devil saw this heavenly protection from far and he never attempted to break in. This is a powerful story, which I heard in my childhood, it stuck with my heart and I used to tell this story for children in confirmation and first communion classes in India as a catechism teacher. The moral of the story is this, God is the protector of the family, the family which has acknowledged God's presence in the family will have joy, faith, hope, and unity.
Prayer:
Heavenly father, I thank you for the blessing of family for this world, because it is an extension of your heavenly presence in the world to form the communities and society. Father I thank you for your love and protection for families especially for unborn children. I acknowledge your presence and your authority in the family and surrender my family to your divine protection. I pray this in Jesus name Amen!
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