This week the blog is sponsored by Moody Publishers.
Parents have a biblical responsibility to protect their children not only from physical harm but also from spiritual harm. It is entirely appropriate and right for a parent to wrestle with whether they want to allow their child to continue to have a friendship with a particular child or to attend a particular school. A parent should not feel shame about wrestling with these types of situations. Their God-given responsibility is to raise their child in the “training and instruction of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4). Parents, don’t shy away from this responsibility because you are worried that someone might not like you or your children. What does it look like to raise your child in the “training and instruction of the Lord”? I believe Deuteronomy 6 provides a tremendous guide for us.
If God’s people are going to keep God’s commands, then our lives must be marked by meditation on the Word of the Lord. If our hearts want to grow in love with the Lord, then we must know and obey His Word. If we desire our children to know these truths, then we will encourage and provide opportunities for them as well.
God is not interested in our ceremonies. He is interested in our affection. He desires for us to love Him, and He has designated that we demonstrate our love for Him by trusting Him enough to obey what He commands. This requires us to believe that God’s will for us is better than our own.
If our hearts want to grow in love with the Lord, then we must know and obey His Word.
Casey B. Hough
In Matthew 10, Jesus exhorts His disciples to place their trust wholly in Him as they obey His call on their lives. Simply put, following Jesus will come with a cost, but that cost should not deter our obedience to Him. According to Jesus, “You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the ones who stand firm to the end will be saved” (v. 22). Jesus’ call on our life is not to prosperity or popularity but perseverance in the face of adversity. Yet, what compels us to persevere is the promise that He will take care of us. While we may be hated “by everyone,” we can rest assured that we are loved by God (vv. 29–31).
What this means for how we navigate issues—like losing our job because of our refusal to comply with speech policies that violate not only our religious liberty but also contradict our biblical convictions about gender and sexuality—is that we can trust God with our obedience to Him. We do not have to, nor should we equivocate on obeying God rather than others.
If God’s Word is clear on a matter, then we can trust that He will take care of us and our family as we seek to conform and submit to His revealed will in Scripture. We cannot love our careers, or our sense of security more than we love God. To do so would be idolatry, something that Scripture explicitly and repeatedly prohibits. So, whether it’s a decision about a birthday party or a boardroom, we are called to trust God who has demonstrated His love for us in Jesus Christ. We can trust Him! We must trust Him. He is faithful. He will take care of His people. He will take care of you.
Excerpted from Known for Love: Loving Your LGBTQ Family & Friends Without Compromising Biblical Truth by Casey B. Hough. (©2024). Published by Moody Publishers. Used with permission.
