February 28th 2016
Honor your father and mother so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you. – Exodus 20:12
I chose this day to write my devotional because today is my parent’s 63rd wedding anniversary. This date has always been a special date not only to my parents but also to me and all my siblings. I believe it stems from the scripture in Exodus 20:12 that states “Honor your father and mother so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.” As I ponder this particular commandment, I am sure if I had to recite the 10 commandment, this commandment would be one that I would have easily recalled. I did not realize until I was reading footnotes about this commandment it is the first one that comes with a promise. In Ephesians 6:2 it clearly tells us this fact.
As children growing up we were typical siblings having our disagreements with our parents or each other. Yet, I think, for the most part, my siblings and I have easily honored our parents. I think this is a piece of scripture packed with wisdom far beyond our initial understanding. We might think it is just a rule to follow, but as I get older, I see it is far greater than a simple rule or commandment. As mom and dad age, the roles change, and they need our physical and emotional support. Therefore, this commandment is much more than a simple commandment or rule to be followed. When we follow this commandment, it becomes a witness to others of how in difficult circumstances, we can honor not only our parents but more importantly God. I believe He knew if we could start with honoring our parent, it would be a character builder for us to be respectful to others. It would be a trait that we could pass along to our children and grandchildren. I watched my parents honor and care for their parents even in difficult situations. I am lucky my parents are easy to love and gave us every reason to love and honor them. I do recall that was not always the case for my mother and father. They each had a parent that did not always lead a life that made it easy for my parents to love and honor them, but they did. A lesson for many of us that we are not called to just love and respect those that are easy to love. Much like God loves us even when we are at our worse. He forgives us and gives us Grace and honor even when we don’t deserve it.
In summary, if we can start with this simple commandment to honor our parents, it will spill over into many aspects of our lives, and we will live long in the land of the Lord.
God has blessed us all greatly with this commandment.
– Diane Rider