“Be Faithful to Who You Are” by Colleen O’Sullivan
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 have a long life on earth. Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger but bring them up with the training and instruction of the Lord. (Ephesians 6:1-4)
Jesus passed through towns and villages, teaching as he went and making his way to Jerusalem. Someone asked him, "Lord, will only a few people be saved?" He answered them, "Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough. (Luke 13:22-24)
Piety
Great is your faithfulness to us, O Lord. Grant us the grace, we pray, to be faithful to you in return, wherever you have placed us in life.
Study
Both of today’s Scripture readings are about being faithful to who we are, in our families as well as in our relationship to God.
Paul continues yesterday’s theme of relationships within families. He’s had his say on husbands and wives and Christian marriage. Now he turns to children and parents. He begins by reminding children that they are to honor their parents and obey them, and then quickly follows that up with an admonishment to fathers not to act in such a way that anger is enkindled in their children. The apostle also reminds parents to bring their children up in the ways of our faith.
Parents are the key here. Children can’t be obedient if they don’t know what the expectations or parameters for acceptable behavior are. So, moms and dads are to provide the example for good behavior and spell it out to their kids. Parents need to be consistent. They need to be attentive to their role as parents. We live in such a busy, fast-paced society that we easily get caught up in our jobs and our self-interests and become laissez-faire parents. A seven-year-old once said to me, “Mommy lets the kids do anything, I mean anything.” That seemed like a child crying out for parental guidance and supervision. Parents need to be patient because it’s all too easy to be short with or yell at your children.
Paul tells children to do what their parents tell them to do, to honor their fathers and mothers. For a child, that’s being faithful to who they are. Parents are tasked with bringing their children up in a kind and loving manner so that their children don’t have cause to become angry or resentful. Paul also reminds moms and dads that instruction in the Christian faith begins at home with them. Parents who do these things are being faithful to who they are as moms and dads. This advice is just as sound and needed today as it was in the first century.
Jesus talks about being faithful to who we are in a totally different way. Someone asks him if salvation will be offered to only a few people, and Jesus responds by telling him to try to enter through the narrow gate. When I was a child, I used to worry about this narrow gate or about how salvation would be more difficult to attain than a camel passing through the eye of a needle. There is no magic to slipping through the narrow gate Jesus refers to. Follow in our Lord’s footsteps. Know Jesus. Be friends with the Lord. Accept the crosses that come our way. There is no other way to eternal life except by way of the Cross. If that’s the road we’re on, we’re faithfully following the spiritual GPS directions that will take us through the narrow gate. We’re being faithful to our calling as Christians.
Action
Spend a few minutes reflecting on this: Whatever roles are yours in life – parent, grandparent, child, teacher, a disciple of Christ, or other – how faithful are you to the person God has called you to be?
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