In this passage, Paul is showing us what it means to “apply the Gospel” to two of our closest spheres of influence, family and work.
For Paul, faith is not meant to be private, but very public and lived out, to let his (and our) light shine before people.
If there is one takeaway from this text it is this: Be Jesus to people.
First, Paul addresses relations between children and parents, and like husbands and wives from last week, the practice in Paul’s day was that the parents (specifically the dad) had all the power over children.
Paul says: In Christ, children are full participants in the Kingdom of God. In Christ, we who are adults now must act like little children to enter that same kingdom! We must be full of trust, joy, simplicity or else we will not understand God.
Paul says to children, “obey your parents” but adds a new motivation “as part of your relationship to God”. Even though none of our parents are perfect, they are still a gift from God, and they made us into who we are today.
If you are a child, treat your parents as a gift, respect them, and be Jesus to them. If you are a parent, treat your children as a gift, respect them, and be Jesus to them.
Parents, remember you too are children, children of God, and so the responsibility os to treat your children like your Heavenly Father treats you: with undeserved goodness and boundless mercy, speaking the truth in love.
If both children and parents submit to one another and put others’ needs ahead, it is heavenly.
Well, that is the ideal, but what I have a disrespectful child, a manipulative parent, a cruel or bitter mom or dad? The command remains: Be Jesus to them. Love them, tell them the truth, always be loyal to God and trust Him with them.
Ask Him to show you want to do, even if it means walking away so God can deal with them directly and so you won’t get hurt.
Churches also have a hand to play in the raising of children, for if stewardship is the proper management of assets then
Christian stewardship means placing emphasis on the most valuable asset it has: children.
From the family, Paul moves to the second most common place we spend our time: work.
He uses terms that may seem strange to us: Masters and slaves. When we hear “slave” we may think that Paul seems to be promoting the idea! This is not true at all and in fact, quite the opposite.
Again, Paul is bringing the Gospel to bear on the institutions of his day, including slavery, and he is setting the stage for its eventual and total destruction.
Gal. 3:28; 1 Cor. 7:21-23, and especially the New Testament book of Philemon lays out a case that simply said: Slavery was against God’s design for mankind, and in Christ’s church slave and master are now equals, so if the church is to reach the world, it must show that slavery is to become abolished.
Verse 9 says it all: God does not play favorites. It doesn’t matter your skin color, or age, or gender, or money level. What matters is boiled down to one question: Will you say yes to Jesus?
Paul is saying here that similar to parents and children, masters and slaves are to be Jesus to each other.
The reason is because everything, even our jobs, are redeemed by Christ and now hold new purpose for us. We do it all as if we were doing it for Jesus Himself!
That means whether you are a “master” or “servant”, a worker or a boss, we are all on equal ground, for all of us were slaves to sin and have now been freed by Christ, so that now we are slaves to Him in order that we may free others.
If you are a worker, serve your boss as if you were serving Jesus, even if your boss doesn’t deserve it, for you now only have one true Boss (Jesus). If you are a boss, serve those under you and use your power for their benefit.
Treat all as you would treat Christ Himself for all of life is lived in the Lord, to the Lord, and for the Lord.
All are equal in God’s eyes so be Jesus to one another, for that is what God’s vision is for a church: BE JESUS TO ALL PEOPLE EVERYWHERE!