older way of life, Communism was an inferior type o f culture. “But,” he went on, “when the Commu nists took over, they set about the systematic de struction o f the home as a family unit.” The young er generation were taught to despise the old ways and the old culture. They were encouraged to spy on parents and relations, and report acts that were contrary to the new laws of the land. Their allegi ance was now to the state and the leader of the state. On such a generation the Communists now had a great hold and China as it used to be was being tom apart and rebuilt without the home. God builds the home and uses the home, but Com munism destroys the home and all that it stands for. In one area the American people are playing right into the hands of the Communists — in the ever-growing divorce rate. Statistics show that in the United States, one out of every four marriages ends in divorce. In California, this figure is one out of every three, and in Southern California official figures issued in San Bernardino in 1965 show that one out of every two marriages ends in divorce. In other words, the American people themselves are deliberately breaking up the home as a unit. This brings about a definite weakening in the moral and domestic fiber of the nation. Moreover it is giving the Communists exactly what they want—a people who are fast losing the meaning of the words love, loyalty and allegiance. With this gradual break down in the home life o f the nation, it is all the more important that the Christian home should stand firm for all that is true and pure. The importance of the home in the eyes of God is best seen in His arranging for the upbringing of His own Son. With all the world to choose from, and every home, rich and poor, at His command, our God chose the humble home in Nazareth as the place where the Lord Jesus should be reared. Not wealthy, not poverty-stricken — just a humble, hardworking, simple family home. Did you ever wonder how many children Mary had besides her first-born Jesus? Matthew 13:55-57 tells us that the local people in Nazareth said about Jesus, “ Is not this the carpenter’s son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? And his sisters, are they not all with us?” We can learn from this that Mary had four more sons, all younger than Jesus. So Jesus had four half-brothers. The word sisters implies at least two, but the King James Version is wrong in the position of the word all in that phrase. Every other translation or version gives it “ and all his sisters, are they not with us ?” “His sisters” could mean two girls, but “all his sisters” means at least three. This gives us at least seven other chil
dren in the family besides Jesus, who was the eldest. This is what God chose for His own Son — a family where there must have been problems and tensions, where the oldest boy would have plenty to do helping Joseph or Mary with the little ones. Consider also that Jesus stayed at home until He was thirty years old—a fact we so often overlook. Tradition says that Joseph died early, leaving Jesus as the man of the house. There is another significant word in I Corin thians 9 :5, where Paul says, “Have we not power to lead about a sister, a wife, as well as the other apostles, and as the brethren of the Lord, and Cephas?” Scripture records that the- four half- brothers of Jesus were married, so He had sisters- in-law as well—and probably brothers-in-law. As the other children married, they would leave home. But Jesus stayed until He was thirty. Learn from this two things. First, God is so committed to the home and family as a unit, that His own Son took part, to the full, in such as experience. Second, when the Bible says in Hebrews 4:15 that Jesus was “ in all points tempted [or tested] like as we are, yet without sin,” it really means what it says. Jesus knew and experienced all the tensions and pressures o f close family living.' Psalm 127 has much to teach us about the organ ization and development of a home, as prescribed by God Himself. We find here basic principles which are applicable to every age and national cul ture. The home which operates under these instruc tions is one in which God’s will and purposes will be carried on. But the home which is simply following the pattern set by others in the community is in danger o f failure and, above all, of limiting God. The culture in which we live has developed a wrong emphasis with regard to marriage. The wed ding ceremony, when the bridegroom and bride are united as husband and wife, is looked upon as the culmination of all that has gone before. All the glory and glamour are focused on the wedding day. At the end of the ceremony, there is a sense of com pletion—the whole thing is finally over. Now that they are married, everyone can relax! There is a sense in which this is true. A chapter has ended in the lives o f these two. But the whole emphasis of Psalm 127 is that when the wedding is over, then the actual business o f marriage really begins. It is this ignorance of what God says about the new relationship that causes failure and weak ness in so many Christian homes. Reprinted from L i m i t i n g G o d by Dr. John E. Hunter, published by Zondervan Publishing House, copyright 1966.
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JANUARY, 1967
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