St. Paul and Silas were asked by a jailer, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They replied, : “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household” (Acts 16:30-31). It is God’s will for you and your family to be saved.
In his last or farewell message to Israel before his death, Joshua challenged the nation: “But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household,we will serve the LORD” (Joshua 24:15). Joshua used his family example to challenge and to inspire the nation to serve God.
Challenges that church families face today When the father and/or mother came to faith in Christ, their child/children were already grown up and on their own, and they have no interest in their parents’ new faith. The child/children grew up in the church, but the faith was not successfully passed on to them for different reasons: the parents were too busy, or did not know how to share the faith with their children, or they did not team up with the church to pass on the faith to their children, or their negative example to their children backfired. The parent/parents’ life reflected Christ to their child/children, they faithfully led their children to church, in addition to their family devotions, but one or more of their teenage or grow-up children rebel against their Christian upbringing and choose to live a worldly lifestyle.
How to face these challenges victoriously
1. Keep praying for the salvation of your unsaved family members.
2. Learn how to share the gospel of salvation with your unsaved family members, whether they are still living with you or now on their own.
3. Wisely use every opportunity to share the gospel with your unsaved family members through words, actions, and godly example.
4. Keep inviting your unsaved family members to attend church with you to expose them to God’s message of salvation.
