October 29, 2021 Brethren Letter
Dear Brethren,
A strong and firm family structure is a basic building block of any happy and stable society. (Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong, May 14, 1974)
I once read an article on the internet about today’s decline of the American family, by J. Randall Hall. Here’s a paragraph taken from that article…
In America today, 53 percent of all children born to women under the age of 30 are being born outside of what has historically been considered the most stable family structure. We are deep into a crisis that is critically burdening our schools, neighborhoods, law enforcement agencies, economy and, if not abated, will produce dire consequences for our society.
While the world’s view of the family is much different today that it was even a decade ago, God’s view hasn’t changed at all. God is very much focused on the FAMILY. From God’s perspective, the human family is a type of the God Family relationship, which God wants us to be a part of for all eternity! “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is” (I John 3:2).
I wrote a Letter in 2015 on the subject of “FAMILY”. Tonight, I’m resending that letter about this all important topic.
Have a good night’s rest everyone!
Your Brother in Christ,
Gary Liebold
Dear Brethren,
Now UNDERSTAND! The husband-and-wife relationship, and the family relationship, are God-plane relationships! … Here is another vital REASON for the institution of MARRIAGE in the human family. It is to teach us — to constantly remind us — of our sacred relationship to Jesus Christ! (The Missing Dimension in Sex – Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong)
As Mr. Armstrong pointed out, the human family relationship is a God-plane relationship. MARRIAGE and FAMILY are an actual type of the God FAMILY relationship. That’s why our families must be a top priority (after God), in our lives.
Below are three lists. Which of these examples better describes your life? Does God come first (i.e. – prayer, Bible study, meditation, His TRUTH, His laws), or do everyday responsibilities come to the top of the list, before you’re ever on your knees praying to God? What about your family? Where are they in your list of priorities? Are you really spending quality time with them or are they only getting whatever you have leftover at the end of the day? Which of these lists better describes your life?
PRIORITIES:
| 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|
| God | Other | Responsibilities |
| Family | Responsibilities | Other |
| Responsibilities | Family | God |
| Other | God | Family |
Again, God must come first! “…’You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment” (Matthew 22:37-38). Your family must be a priority after God, not somewhere way down the line. Mr. Armstrong wrote the following in his book The Missing Dimension in Sex:
The divine FAMILY RELATIONSHIP is a LOVE relationship. The tie that holds the divine Family together is the tie of LOVE! To those thus begotten of God, converted by His Spirit, Christ says through John: “Behold, what manner of LOVE the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called THE SONS OF GOD …. Beloved, now are we the sons of God [begotten], and it doth not yet appear what we shall be [when born]: but we know that, when he [Christ] shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is” (I John 3:1-2).
Even now, converted begotten sons of God have spiritual FELLOWSHIP WITH THE FATHER and with the Son, Christ (I John 1:3).
So the FAMILY relationship, both on the divine plane, and in the human type, now, is a LOVE relationship — and GOD IMPLANTS WITHIN HIS BEGOTTEN CHILDREN His divine love TO EQUIP THEM FOR THAT DIVINE LOVE relationship.
Likewise, the betrothal Husband-and-wife-to-be relationship between CHRIST and THE CHURCH is a LOVE relationship.
Notice, again, God’s teaching that MARRIAGE on the present human level is to be a LOVE relationship, just as is Christ’s relationship to His Church:
Brethren, all of us have responsibilities to take care of each day! We have bills. We have homes to take care of. We have jobs. The list is long! However, if life’s responsibilities are hampering your relationship with God and with your family then it’s time to simplify things. PRIORITIZE! Put first things first! Place your daily responsibilities in the correct order. I would recommend writing a list of your everyday duties, then ask God how to balance them properly. “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy” (James 3:17).
I’ll end tonight’s letter with another quote from Mr. Armstrong (The Missing Dimension in Sex):
Humans are, if converted through Christ, the heirs of the GOD FAMILY. They are to enter the divine FAMILY. They are, even now, the begotten children of God. Therefore God ordained the family relationship for human beings.
That’s what God’s plan is all about – FAMILY! The FAMILY of GOD is our future!
Please have a wonderful Sabbath!
Your Brother in Christ,
Gary Liebold