Is There Any Hope of Restoring What Has Been Lost?

Q: Families and homes that were once the backbone of society have become victims of society. Is there any hope of restoring what has been lost? — F.H.

A: God designed marriage, family and home as sacred institutions. These are falling away for one reason — God has been left out of the domestic picture. With the breakdown of discipline in the home, the home has been battered and scared. It does not make screaming headlines; but, like termites, it is eating away at the heart and core of life as God designed it.

Restoring these gifts God has given to mankind takes humbling ourselves before God and asking forgiveness for being reckless and distracted. Many homes today have become little more than dormitories, where the members of the family eat and sleep but otherwise have little communication or interaction with each other. Family life has disintegrated and children are growing up insecure, never knowing the stability of a happy family.

The secret of domestic happiness is to set aside self-fulfillment and let God have His rightful place in the home. We must make peace with Him. We cannot undo what has been done in the past, but we can change the things that lend to the breakdown. God can restore broken marriages, families and homes.

God ordained monogamous marriage and the sanctity of what is known as the traditional family. We cannot improve on what He said was good, and He has given clear instruction on making Him the center of home life: “Lay up these words of mine … teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up … write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates” (Deuteronomy 11:18-20).

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(This column is based on the words and writings of the late Rev. Billy Graham.)

(c)2019 BILLY GRAHAM DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.