Gospel centred family

Chet Daniels reviews the book 'Gospel-Centred Family: Becoming the parents God wants you to be' by Ed Moll and Tim Chester on The Gospel Coalition Blog today.  He introduces it by saying:

"Most books on parenting today focus on getting a child to comply to the parent’s standard of behavior or to become well-trained, well-rounded children. Others focus on trying to get the gospel to fit into the family life. Rarely do you see books that encourage family life to fit into the gospel. Gospel-Centred Family is one such book."

Until I get hold of a copy myself here's a brief review of the review!  The book is arranged into four parts:

A Gospel-centred family - A biblical family home demonstrates how great it is to live under God's reign of love and is where we learn to live for the glory of God and the good of others.  Parents teach their children that knowing God is far more important than succeeding in life not only by their words but also their actions and their priorities.

 

A Grace-centred family - The end goal of discipline is not just to get children to obey us as parents but is the means God uses to teach them to submit to his authority.  Rather than focussing on rules, which trains children to become legalists, parents should focus on developing their relationship with their kids, reflecting the love and grace of the gospel, delighting in them as God does in his children.

A Word-centred family - Parents should teach their children about God in the context of everyday life, not just through family devotions, but by speaking of God in normal daily conversations.  

A Mission-centred family - We must show our children that they are part of a bigger family, the family of God.  Church is not just somewhere they go but something the family is part of.  Children learn that they are not the centre of the world as we involve them in one-another ministry alongside us as parents.

I have been thinking a lot recently about what it really means to be a family on mission together and feel this is God's desire for all our families as we follow him.  The focus of our lives is not primarily on doing what we feel is best for our children, or ourselves, but on God and his purposes for us as a family.  

"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."  (Ephesians 3:20-21)

As we as a family step out in faith, through the power of the Holy Spirit, God can use us to do amazing things that will have eternal significance.  His plans for our family are far beyond our own.  What a privilege, what a challenge, what a call: to live our lives for his glory.