J.I. Packer writes, “The way we behave as children and parents is a prime test of both our humanity and our godliness. Love – the caring love of parents who respect their children and want to see them mature, and the grateful love of children who respect their parents and want to see them content – is our great need.” Dr. Packer continues, “In these days it is urgent that parents and children together relearn the ways of Christian family life. In the West, yesterday’s extended family has shrunk to today’s nuclear family; social security and community affluence has reduced the family’s importance as an economic unit, and all this has weakened family relationships. Parents are too busy to give time to their children, and young people, identifying with current youth culture, are more prone than ever to write off their parents as clueless. But the fifth commandment recalls us to God’s order.”
Christian Family Life
August 17, 2021