It is always sad to hear of those who are orphans. You hear of those who have been abandoned or because of a pressure the parents cannot handle, the child becomes an orphan. It is sad hearing of those children who became orphans because they lost their parents due to death or some form of separation that the parents could not prevent. Our hearts go out for those who do not have parents.
Sadly, there is a horrible epidemic occurring in the world and seen in the church today. Albert Mohler observes, “We live in an age of intentional orphans”.[1] We live in a time where people make themselves orphans by deliberately and intentionally removing themselves from the position of obeying or respecting their parents. Sadly, our world is filled with “intentional orphans.” These are the people who have no respect or honour for their parents. Sure, they may live under their parents’ roof, but in their attitudes and actions they display no honour, no respect, no care, and no admiration towards their parents. We have a generation of those who seek to remove themselves from any authority and relationship with their parents.
We need to understand that this is an alarming reality. In two passages that provide a catalogue of sinful behaviours in a time of apostasy, the apostle Paul specifically refers to those who are disobedient to their parents (Rom. 1:30; 2 Tim. 3:2). Martyn Lloyd-Jones in commenting on these two passages says, “In both instances the Apostle reminds us that at a time of apostasy, at a time of gross godlessness and irreligion, when the very foundations are shaking, one of the most striking manifestations of the lawlessness is, ‘disobedient to parents'”.[2]
When apostasy is on the rise, when unrighteousness abounds in society, one of the sins at the core each time is a rejection of parental authority. If there is no submission to parental authority in the home, this can lead to a lack of submission or leadership in marriage and also a breakdown in the workplace. If it goes beyond that, there will be resistance against government and any other form of authority. This causes horrible devastation in a society. How can this be prevented? After talking about the life changing power of the gospel in an individual’s life (Col. 3:1), Paul simply wrote, “Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord” (Col. 3:20). The word for “children” in this text carries the idea of offspring. This word is not always limited to a young child, but in this present context it refers to one who is still under parental authority. Paul has in mind those children who still live under their parents’ roof, but they have come to believe in Christ. As believers, they are not only given the mandate to obey, but they also have the spiritual capacity to do it (Col. 3:1-17).
This short verse is so counter-cultural. For one to actually apply this text to their lives is to rebel against the evil of society by displaying the supremacy of Jesus Christ in the home. It is a war against what the world is propagating.
[1] R. Albert Mohler Jr., Words from the Fire: Hearing the Voice of God in the 10 Commandments, 2009, Moody Publishers
[2] Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Ephesians, 239
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