Draw Near – 365 Guides to Greater Intimacy with GodSample

A HEALTHY CLIMATE The home must provide a climate in which love, trust, honesty, and security can flourish. If it does not, then all the material things parents provide have no meaning and actually make children frustrated and angry. Trust and tenderness are fragile things. They cannot survive battering and bruising. For a person to love, he must give himself to another; if he is betrayed or taken advantage of, he will withdraw in pain and anger. God has structured the home so that all family members may learn to give their love without being hurt or taken advantage of. The home helps us develop those Christ-like characteristics God wants us to have. It is most significant that when God sent His only begotten Son into the world, He was careful to place Him in a healthy and godly home. If we want our children to fully realize their potential, we must provide the emotional climate to help them do so. Of all God's creatures, the human needs the longest time to grow up. A cat is a kitten for a relatively short time. Likewise dogs, birds, and other animals need only a short time to mature. Yet, God in His wisdom has ordained--not months--but many years of growing and learning before the human being can be put in full control of himself. And that's what family life is all about: helping our little ones learn to control themselves.