Day 2: The Obedience God Honors
Reading: Ephesians 6:1-3
6 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— 3 “so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”[a]
Footnotes
[a]Ephesians 6:3 Deut. 5:16
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Devotional:
Paul points to one of the Ten Commandments to anchor the call for children to honor their parents, noting that God attached a promise to this particular command. Honor is not merely outward compliance. It is a condition of the heart that expresses genuine reverence for the authority God has placed in a person's life. Our culture has grown deeply suspicious of authority, and that suspicion has crept into our homes, our churches, and our walk with God. Obedience rooted in honor is not weakness. It is a spiritual discipline that shapes character and builds trust across generations.
Do you honor those God has placed in authority over you, or do you obey only when you agree with their direction?
If your parents are still living, reach out to them this week with a specific expression of gratitude and honor, regardless of the complexity of your relationship.
6 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— 3 “so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”[a]
Footnotes
[a]Ephesians 6:3 Deut. 5:16
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Devotional:
Paul points to one of the Ten Commandments to anchor the call for children to honor their parents, noting that God attached a promise to this particular command. Honor is not merely outward compliance. It is a condition of the heart that expresses genuine reverence for the authority God has placed in a person's life. Our culture has grown deeply suspicious of authority, and that suspicion has crept into our homes, our churches, and our walk with God. Obedience rooted in honor is not weakness. It is a spiritual discipline that shapes character and builds trust across generations.
Do you honor those God has placed in authority over you, or do you obey only when you agree with their direction?
If your parents are still living, reach out to them this week with a specific expression of gratitude and honor, regardless of the complexity of your relationship.
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1 Comment
I like to think that I honor my dad, but the whole "obey" thing I struggle with. It's hard to be honoring to someone when there are so many triggers from the past that make me react in not-so-honorable ways. The Lord has convicted me before about honoring my father. I will make an effort this week to honor him with the way I speak. I do a lot to help him, but it isn't always with a happy heart. I value him immensely, especially because he's the only parent I have left. The words that come out of his mouth just create something not so nice that comes out of my mouth sometimes. God didn't say honor your parents "as long as" they don't provoke you. I need to work on that.