Word for the day by Christian Education Forum
Faith Formulation in the Family
Rev. Dr. Joe Joseph Kuruvilla
Director, Mar Thoma
Counselling Centre, Thiruvilla
5 When Jesus came to the
place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I
must stay at your house today.”
The institution of family plays a very vital role in the growth and development of every individual. But over the years the place and importance of family is being underplayed or if you put it in other words, the world today seems to take the role and importance of the family very lightly. It is in such context that when we think of faith formulation in the family we realize that today, it is the nurturing of faith that has taken a back seat as far the role of the family is concerned. Why has this deterioration happened?
The Bible portion that we are using for our devotion is from Luke 19:1-10. This passage describes the life and times of a tax collected, Zacheus. When we look at the lifestyle led by Zacheus we can see some of the factors that has caused deterioration of the family relationship and also how that has resulted into the lack of faith nurturing in the family. Here is a person whose priority in life and focus in life is only to view life by how much he has earned or how much money and other things he has hoarded. Life is not valued in terms of relationship but in terms of ones monetary value. When I have money stashed up in bank in form of fixed deposits, I feel good and it makes me feel relaxed because I feel I have everything in life. For today’s individual more than relationships it is money and the things that money can buy that drives an individual. It is this focus that Jesus changes when He encounters Zacheus. He tells Zacheus that He is going to come to his home, affirming that what Jesus sees in life is not his material prosperity but on the contrary helping him to find true meaning in life through realignment of priorities and also helping him to connect himself to the world through ones web of relationship. It is this new realignment that helps Zacheus to declare his changed status in terms of his relationship with others and also Jesus. He is now ready to consider all his riches as rags and affirming that from now onward it is not going to be money but relationships.
Faith formulation happens in family when family realizes the true value of what family is all about. Family is not an institution where each member's goal in life is to earn money or to bring about financial security and affluence, but in the establishment of relationship that is based on love, trust and mutual dependence. It is when such a web of relationship is established that members of family truly realizes what faith living and faith formulation is all about. Let us pray that each of the family of today focuses on strengthening ones relationship among the family and society and not focusing on what we can earn and stash up in banks promoting a false sense of security and meaningless living.
The institution of family plays a very vital role in the growth and development of every individual. But over the years the place and importance of family is being underplayed or if you put it in other words, the world today seems to take the role and importance of the family very lightly. It is in such context that when we think of faith formulation in the family we realize that today, it is the nurturing of faith that has taken a back seat as far the role of the family is concerned. Why has this deterioration happened?
The Bible portion that we are using for our devotion is from Luke 19:1-10. This passage describes the life and times of a tax collected, Zacheus. When we look at the lifestyle led by Zacheus we can see some of the factors that has caused deterioration of the family relationship and also how that has resulted into the lack of faith nurturing in the family. Here is a person whose priority in life and focus in life is only to view life by how much he has earned or how much money and other things he has hoarded. Life is not valued in terms of relationship but in terms of ones monetary value. When I have money stashed up in bank in form of fixed deposits, I feel good and it makes me feel relaxed because I feel I have everything in life. For today’s individual more than relationships it is money and the things that money can buy that drives an individual. It is this focus that Jesus changes when He encounters Zacheus. He tells Zacheus that He is going to come to his home, affirming that what Jesus sees in life is not his material prosperity but on the contrary helping him to find true meaning in life through realignment of priorities and also helping him to connect himself to the world through ones web of relationship. It is this new realignment that helps Zacheus to declare his changed status in terms of his relationship with others and also Jesus. He is now ready to consider all his riches as rags and affirming that from now onward it is not going to be money but relationships.
Faith formulation happens in family when family realizes the true value of what family is all about. Family is not an institution where each member's goal in life is to earn money or to bring about financial security and affluence, but in the establishment of relationship that is based on love, trust and mutual dependence. It is when such a web of relationship is established that members of family truly realizes what faith living and faith formulation is all about. Let us pray that each of the family of today focuses on strengthening ones relationship among the family and society and not focusing on what we can earn and stash up in banks promoting a false sense of security and meaningless living.
PRAYER
Dear Lord thank you for
the gift of our family. We confess that we are more concerned on strengthening
our financial positon than strengthening our family relationships. Help us work
in such a way that through the strengthening of our family we are able to live
and express our faith meaningfully. Amen
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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
Faith
formulation happens in family when family realizes the true value of what
family is all about.
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