Honor Your Parents

Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. Exodus 20:12

Good morning and God bless from the Big Apple! Yeah I miss Florida already..lol Look at the wonderful promise God makes us in this verse but there's a catch. The catch is to honor your father and mother. The promise is our days shall be long upon the land which He gives us. For some of us it is easy and natural to honor our parents because they have taught us the fear of the Lord and have been godly examples in our lives. But what about those of us who's parents were not the examples we would have hoped for? Or those of us who's parents were abusive or unloving or absent all the time? Do we still have to honor them? Yes!! Why? Because we are no longer our own. Our lives belong to our Heavenly Father now and we must live according to His word and that means that we have to forgive all those who have hurt or offended us in the past, including our parents. How do you honor parents who have abused or abandoned you? By forgiving them and praying for them. By treating them with love and respect despite the past and despite their reaction to it. To honor your parents no matter what kind of parent they may be is to love them unconditionally and see them the way God sees them and us. Forgiveness makes way for reconciliation, love and peace. If we have anything against our parents today, let us give it to the Lord and ask Him to show us how to forgive them and love them so that we can be in obedience to His word and honor them. When we honor them we are promised a long life. Not just a long life, but a long life of peace, joy, and the fullness of God! Praise the Lord!! Everything God commands us to do in His word is for a purpose and for our well being. His commandments are for our growth, our healing, our faith, and our relationship with Him.