Imagine a stable and prosperous government without families. Society would be full of anarchy if not for the family structure. It naturally provides checks and balances, and some form of order. Imagine a church without families participating. It would be very difficult for the body of Christ to flourish without mothers and fathers discipling their children and providing a solid foundation for the church to build on.
When God designed the family, it wasn’t a haphazard or random design. He had a purpose in mind for the family and the role it would play in the unfolding of His plan for humanity.
The purpose of marriage
Some may view marriage as a worldly construct designed to fulfill our individual desires. This way of thinking leaves God out of the picture. This is proven by the high divorce rate in marriages. Oftentimes, men and women marry and then decide that marriage isn’t what they thought it would be. This shallow and worldly attitude leaves families broken. Husbands and wives divorce, their children feel abandoned, and it usually takes a multi-generational toll.
Research shows that couples who are married often have better physical and emotional well-being than those couples who are not married. In his research, Dr. Robert Shmerling noted that “People in stressful, unhappy marriages may be worse off than a single person who is surrounded by supportive and caring friends, family, and loved ones.”
Of the numerous instructions for marriage in the Bible, this passage provides the best guidance:
Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything.
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, because we are members of His body. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church. Nevertheless, each individual among you also is to love his own wife even as himself, and the wife must see to it that she b]">[b]respects her husband (Ephesians 5:22-33).
The purpose of parenthood
Some view parenthood as only necessary to provide for the physical needs of children until they are of age to care for themselves. However, from a biblical worldview, parenthood is about nurturing, teaching, and disciplining children. The goal of parenting is to raise the children to honor God with their lives.
The Bible often stresses the importance of guidance and instruction in parenting. Proverbs 23:13-14 says, “Do not hold back discipline from the child, although you strike him with the rod, he will not die. You shall strike him with the rod and rescue his soul from Sheol..” In biblical times the rod was used by the shepherd to guide sheep in the proper direction.
God also addresses how children are to respond to their parents’ instruction. Ephesians 6:1-3 says, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ‘Honor your father and mother’ (this is the first commandment with a promise), ‘that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.’”
Among many things, the purpose of the family is to contribute to the body of Christ, allow a couple to be fruitful and multiply, and provide a stable environment where the parents and children can flourish in the home and in society.
