Honour thy father and thy mother

Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
	Exodus 20:12
The fifth commandment is unique indeed, for, as Paul reminds us, it is the only one with a promise attached to it (Ephesians 6:1–3). As evidenced by the fact that many saints die at a young age, while many sinners seem to live indefinitely, the long days promised to those who keep this commandment refer not necessarily to quantity but to quality—to a life full of rich and meaningful days. Living until the age of 930, the first Adam lived thirty times longer than the last Adam, Jesus Christ, who died at the age of thirty-three. Yet no one would argue that the first Adam honored his heavenly Father thirty times more than did the last Adam, for Jesus honored His Father perfectly. And the way He related to His heavenly Father provides a picture, a pattern, and an example for how I am to relate to my earthly mother and father . . . Jesus was a reflection of His Father (John 5:19). So too, because you are a reflection of your parents, if you’re down on them, you’ll be down on yourself. Therefore, the way to be well emotionally and relationally is to honor your father and mother. Jesus was dependent upon His Father (John 5:26). So too, we are dependent upon our earthly parents. Given the fact that the chemical components that comprise our bodies are the same as those of a slug, we should be eternally grateful we were born as humans rather than slugs. Therefore, if there’s no other reason to honor them, we should honor them because they gave us life, sustained our lives, and saved our lives probably many more times than we could even imagine. Jesus was submitted to His Father (John 5:30). The two key qualities that will bring fulfillment and success to anyone’s life are those of humility and submission. And those qualities are born only in the context of family. You see, if I don’t like my job, I can quit; if I don’t like my friends, I can avoid them; if I don’t like my neighbors, I can move; if I don’t like my school, I can drop out. But my relationship to my parents is the one relationship I can’t change. And it is precisely when I don’t agree with them or understand them that submission and humility are worked into my soul. At the peak of His maturity, Jesus said, “I am in submission to My Father.” And so must I be. By Pastor Jon Courson