Moments Together for Couples 4/27

by Dennis and Barbara Rainey

Exodus 20:12
Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you.

During the early 1970s, I worked with teenagers in a ministry in Boulder, Colorado. One of my favorite messages to communicate to the teens was titled "How to Raise Your Parents." Actually I camouflaged the message behind the title. The real challenge was to obey God's commandment "Honor your father and your mother."

As I spoke, I realized that I was touching a raw nerve. Many had such difficult relationships with their parents that the command to honor them presented a challenge of immense proportions, a major step in their growing faith.

Then, for several summers during the 1980s, I taught a graduate class at the International School of Theology to students preparing for vocational ministry. Of my 20 lectures, the one addressing "Honoring Your Parents" easily sparked the greatest response. It was fascinating! Every summer, dozens of young men and women would leave that particular message in tears, motivated to do a better job honoring their parents.

One young man handed me a note that affirmed the message of honoring parents:

I appreciated your talk today. It brought back some memories I have about my dad that I would like to share with you. Every day that I can remember, my dad took me and hugged me and kissed me good night.

I was with him the night he died. That night he hugged me and kissed me and told me he loved me, and I was too embarrassed to tell him that I loved him.

He died of a heart attack two and one-half hours later after I went to bed. I remember standing over his body saying, "Dad, I love you." But it was a couple of hours too late.

You don't hear much these days about God's commandment to honor our parents. In fact, I call it "The Forgotten Commandment." But, as I will explain in the next devotions, it may be one of the most profound in Scripture.

Prayer:

If you struggle with the idea of honoring your parents, then ask God to make you willing to honor them.

Discuss: What kind of relationship do you now have with your parents?

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