What is the perfect Christian family? Is perfection truly attainable? Probably not! Thousands of Christian books have been written in recent years to try to improve Christian family life. While having the perfect Christian family is not an attainable, families should strive to more Christ-like in their dealings with each other.
Where would we look to find the perfect Christian family? Well, as great of a resource as Christian books are, in reality we need no other resource that the Bible to find our ideal, and the Bible has a lot to say on the subject of the family. First, let's examine the role of the Christian father.
Ephesians 6:4 says: "and ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." From this verse we see that it is the responsibility of the father to ensure that his children are being taught to love and respect God and His word. As our Heavenly Father, God is the ultimate example of how a father is to treat his children. God lovingly disciplines his children. In the perfect Christian family, the father would discipline with love, and times of discipline would be used as opportunities to train and instruct. A husband as well, his responsibility is to love his wife in the same way that Christ loved the church, according to Ephesians 5:22.
In the prefect Christian family, the mother takes the role of the nurturer. In Proverbs 31, it is the mother who rises before dawn to attend to the needs of her household. The mother sets the tone for the spirit of the house. Also a wife, her responsibility is to submit to her husband. Ephesians 5:22 says: "wives, submit yourselves unto your husbands, as unto the Lord." Submission does not mean obeying without question. Submission means stepping back and letting the husband lead. A wife, however, has the responsibility of giving her opinion in decision making.
The final players in our perfect Christian family are the children. In Genesis, God commanded the first husband and wife to "be fruitful and multiply." One of the purposes of marriage is bringing children into the family. Ephesians 6:1-2 admonishes the children to both obey and honor their parents. Verse three promises a long life to children who do this. The book of Proverbs says much about a child who does not honor his parents. For example, Proverbs 15:20 says: "A foolish man despiseth his mother." Proverbs 20:20 is even more definitive: "Whoso curseth his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness." These verses show how serious the matter of honoring parents is. In fact, in Old Testament law, a child who was found in rebellion against his parents was stoned in front of the entire assembly! God is serious in His command to children to honor and obey their parents!
While no family can be the perfect Christian family, it is a goal worth striving for. If each member of the family fulfills his or her role to the best of their ability, today's families can dwell together with limited strife.