Opening Verse
“Now I say, as long as the heir is a child, he does not differ at all from a slave although he is owner of everything, but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by the father.”
Galatians 4:1-2
A Reflection on Raising A Faithful Home
Think for a moment about the person who first opened the Bible with you. Maybe it was a mother at the kitchen table, a grandfather in the pew, or a dad who prayed out loud before supper. Somebody, somewhere, decided that your faith was worth their time. So here is the question for this week: who is going to say that about you?
Last week we traced the great thread of Scripture, God’s desire to be our God, and for us to be His people, from one generation to the next. This week we pick that thread back up in Galatians 4. But to understand Paul’s point, we have to start with the verse that closes chapter 3:
“And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise” — Galatians 3:29 (NASB)
Notice where that brings us. We are standing right back in the conversation God began with Abraham in Genesis 17:7-8, the promise to be God “to you and to your descendants after you.” Centuries later, Paul writes to the churches of Galatia and tells them that those who are “in Christ” are the heirs of that very promise.
A God Who Keeps His Promises
Our God is a keeper of promises. The God of heaven has always been more faithful to us than we have ever been to Him. That is exactly why, two thousand years after Abraham pitched his tents in Canaan, we still find His promises being fulfilled in the lives of Gentile Christians in Galatia, and in ours.
But here is something easy to miss. The inheritance Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were really looking for was never just a strip of land along the Jordan. It was something far greater:
“By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise; for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful who had promised. Therefore there was born even of one man, and him as good as dead at that, as many descendants as the stars of heaven in number, and innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore. All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them” — Hebrews 11:8-16 (NASB)
How Did They Know?
God is faithful to those who are faithful to Him. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and every faithful descendant after them lived looking for a city not made with hands, a city built by God. Think about that. Three generations of one family, all living as “strangers and exiles,” all convinced that home was somewhere else.
How does that happen? It does not happen by accident. Isaac learned it from Abraham. Jacob learned it from Isaac. Mom and dad taught their children the great promises of God and the importance of faithful obedience to Him. Faith that lasts for generations is faith that is handed down on purpose.
That is the very picture Paul paints in Galatians 4:1-2. An heir, while he is still a child, is placed “under guardians and managers until the date set by the father.” Parents and grandparents, that is our role. Our children have the opportunity to become heirs of promise, and God has placed them under our care until the day they stand on their own before Him.
What Must I Do? Teach!
If we want to build faith in the generation after us, one thing must happen in every Christian home: we must teach. Moses said it plainly to Israel:
“These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up” — Deuteronomy 6:6-7 (NASB)
“Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” — Ephesians 6:4 (NASB)
- The church is not meant to be the sole teacher of your children. You are.
- The church is meant to assist, reinforcing and supporting the truth that is already being taught at home.
Two hours on Sunday and one on Wednesday cannot outweigh 165 hours a week somewhere else. Bible class is a wonderful help, but it was never designed to be a substitute.
Why the Home?
Because the home is where God meant generational faithfulness to begin.
- The home is where the closest people in the world to you live.
- The home is where God sent the children.
- The parents are the ones to whom God entrusted the child.
The Weight of Responsibility
Responsibility is defined as “the state or fact of having a duty to deal with something, or of having control over someone.” It can also mean “being accountable for something” or “a moral obligation to behave correctly toward someone.” True leaders take responsibility.
There is a heavy measure of responsibility resting on parents and grandparents who want to raise children for the King. We have a responsibility to lead our children, to help them be His children, and ultimately to bring them home.
Seven Building Blocks of a Faithful Home
So what does that responsibility look like day to day? In the home, we are responsible for building these seven things:
Devotion
Devotion to the Lord and to every commandment He has given us. Our children need to see our steps pointed in the direction of God’s steps, without distraction.
“This I say for your own benefit; not to put a restraint upon you, but to promote what is appropriate and to secure undistracted devotion to the Lord” — 1 Corinthians 7:35 (NASB)
Sincerity
Sincerity in how we serve the Lord. Our children need to see that serving God is not just something we have to do; it is something we get to do. Yes, it is both a requirement and a duty, but it should flow out of our love for Him. Children can spot the difference between obligation and joy from a mile away.
“Now, therefore, fear the LORD and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD” — Joshua 24:14 (NASB)
And just one verse later, Joshua draws his line in the sand: “…but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD” (Joshua 24:15).
Love
The command has been there from the beginning. Moses told Israel to love the LORD with all their heart, soul, and might (Deuteronomy 6:5), and Jesus called it the foremost commandment of all:
“And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength” — Mark 12:30 (NASB)
And John reminds us that love for God will always spill over into love for one another:
“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God” — 1 John 4:7 (NASB)
Faith
Faith is the continuing, active trust in what God says. It directs the heart, mind, and soul to do, and it builds hope, trust, and unity with God.
When we promote an atmosphere of faith in our homes, we are cultivating the culture of our heavenly home. When I live by faith, my child will see my faith, not only because I told him about it (which I should), but because I demonstrated it. Faith is the key to being approved by God.
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old gained approval” — Hebrews 11:1-2 (NASB)
Study
If our children are going to know God the way we know Him, they must develop a heart for study. But here is the hard truth: they will not develop a heart to study if we do not have one. Parents, our children need to hear from God, and they need us to show them how.
“For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the LORD and to practice it, and to teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel” — Ezra 7:10 (NASB)
Notice Ezra’s order: study it, practice it, then teach it. That is the pattern for every Christian parent.
“Great are the works of the LORD; they are studied by all who delight in them” — Psalm 111:2 (NASB)
“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth” — 2 Timothy 2:15 (NASB)
Intensity
Our homes should carry an intense desire to follow God. Intense means “of great energy, strength, or concentration; existing in a high degree.” Is that how our children would describe our faith?
Jesus told us to “make disciples” (Matthew 28:19), and that work begins at home. Our goal is to raise disciples, workers, and followers; future shepherds, deacons, preachers, and faithful servants of God. That only comes when a heart is filled with a desire to serve Him.
Consider the apostle Paul. Even before his conversion, he was intense, though misdirected; he described himself “as to zeal, a persecutor of the church” (Philippians 3:6). After he met the Lord in Acts 9, that same intensity was turned toward Christ, and it never let up. Through beatings, shipwrecks, and prison, until tradition tells us he was beheaded in Rome under Nero, Paul could say, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7).
Direction
Remember, “faith is the assurance of things hoped for” (Hebrews 11:1). In the hearts and minds of our children, faith, hope, and love must be set on our Savior, looking toward heaven, where God has blessed us “with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3).
- Without direction, they don’t know where they are going.
- Without direction, they don’t know where they are.
- Without direction, they don’t know where they came from.
Direction is everything. It tells you what you need to know, and it gives you something to look forward to.
“But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one. We have confidence in the Lord concerning you, that you are doing and will continue to do what we command. May the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the steadfastness of Christ” — 2 Thessalonians 3:3-5 (NASB)
Taking It Home
- Own the teaching. The church helps, but the home leads. What is one regular time this week you can open God’s Word with your family?
- Let them see your devotion. Undistracted devotion is caught as much as it is taught.
- Serve with joy. Show your children that serving God is a privilege, not a chore.
- Model the study. Like Ezra: study it, live it, then teach it.
- Point them home. Keep the direction of your family fixed on the city whose architect and builder is God.
Closing Thoughts
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob lived in tents, but their hearts lived in a city they had never seen. They passed that hope from father to son because someone took the time to teach it. If you belong to Christ, you are an heir of that same promise. The question is not whether your children will inherit something from you. They will. The question is whether they will inherit your faith.
So this week, open the Book at your table. Pray out loud with your children. Let them see you serve with joy. Build children for the King, and by God’s grace, bring them home.
