Your family and you as an individual have decided that God will be the center of the home and your life. You have set Him as priority number one over all other things that would distract us from our end goal and obedience to Him. Now, what do you do?
There is a passage that is set in the context of worry and angst over the material needs of life. Matthew 6:33 says, “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” The centering and calming force in our lives should be the understanding that God is taking care of us. We need to do our part, but His providential care is always there. With this strong assurance, we seek diligently after His kingdom and His righteousness.
His kingdom is the church, the called out, the family of God and the bride of Christ. If we as a family are seeking after the kingdom, then we are doing all we can. We are assembling with the saints (Heb. 10:25). We should have a solidarity of heart and prefer serving the church and one another over anything (Acts 2:46, Rom. 12:10). Families need to be plugged into and serving the church. If were seeking first the kingdom, then we are also promoting the kingdom. Evangelism and Bible study with friends and family need to be a part of your family practice (2 Tim. 3:16-17; 4:2). In doing these things, we need to seek after His righteousness.
Righteousness is the condition in which you are acceptable to God. So, if we are seeking His righteousness, then we are seeking to be acceptable before Him in His way. There are always those who, even with good intentions, set up their own system of righteousness. “For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge. For not knowing about God’s righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God” (Rom. 10:2-3). We need to seek God’s righteousness for our families. When you apply God’s laws to govern the home, you are establishing God’s righteousness. Mom and Dad have authority in the home, but it means more when a child hears, “Because God said so.” Self-righteousness is, “Because I said so.” Parents have every right to say that (Eph. 6:1-3), but the child must know it comes from a heart that is seeking God. The family must be ruled by the righteousness and commandments of God if it is to fulfill its responsibility to the church. I realize this is not easy. You will be battling your own children and friends to put this into practice, but it will make an eternal difference for you and them.