God intends the family to be one of the fundamental units of society, with Adam the first man, being the symbolic father of the family of humanity. Since time immemorial the Christian family has played a crucial role not only as the solid foundation of the society but also as one of the units through which God intends to reveal Himself to the world.
God’s has divine and indefinite purpose to establish order in the society through the family. Because of the divine role that God has for the Christian family, it must thus have an established structure, characterized by the father as the family head, early marriages and low divorce rates.
Ancient and modern Christian family structures have some similarities. However, this is not to mean that the family structure has resisted change. Despite the notable similarities in roles and functions, the modern Christian family structure has been altered significantly.
The alterations in the family structure have implications, not on the family being one of the focal point for God’s works on earth but socially. The social significance of the family has been watered down. Despite the alterations, the family is still one of the standard units that God uses to reach out to the world.
According to the protestant reformist Martin Luther, God chose to work through families such as the family of Jesus, which can be traced back to the family of Adam through Heli (Churton 123). Like the church, the family is a place where family members commune as a holy community through preaching baptismal and marriage, but are not allowed sharing in the Holy Communion.
These are the attributes of the worshipping family. However, the family should not be seen as competing with the established church. The family, lead by the father, is the heart of the society with family members as believers undertaking their holy mission but within a controlled structure.
This does not mean that the family is emerging as a type of a church or even being the true church. The family should not be seen as the substitute to the established church but as a point of contact between the world and the church. Many of the spiritual battles are fought within families and not in the established church (Scaer 81).
Yet still, like during the biblical times where God used to work through families such as of Jacob’s and Abraham’s, modern Christian families are the contact points through which God reaches and touches modern societies (Scaer 87).
Jesus continuously referred to God as His father, meaning that He recognized the role of the father as the head of the family (Mathew 12: 49). Like the family of Jesus where Joseph was the father and the leader of the family, the traditional Christian family structure had the father as the centre.
Like the church leader, the father had the authority to lead the family in a number of religious rites, and particularly preaching. However, this kind of family structure has been altered significantly during modern times. The Christian family structure has experienced changes since ancient times, but it is in the last 30 years that significant changes have occurred (Scaer 81).
Unlike the past where the family was characterized by the father as the sole centre, early marriages, low divorce rates and many children, the modern Christian family structure is characterized by higher divorce rates, notable family disharmony and late marriages. Furthermore, the rise of divorce rates has lead to increase in the number of stepparents.
This has significantly shifted the family centre of power, with the modern family having many centers of power in stepfathers and stepmothers. The traditional family head, the father was revered more than the modern family head. Thus, the traditional family had fewer parent child conflicts.
However, the multiplication of centers of power within the family had diluted the significance of a reverent family head and thus increased family conflicts (Scaer 82). Despite the dissolution of the one-man family, the family like the church still remains one Gods central focus of society’s salvation.
The alterations of the family structure means that the family structure has shifted from extended to nuclear and of late to a network of families. Family network occurs since families are linked through blood relations and marriages. Despite there lacking in any ethical foundation for criticizing the family network structure, this kind of family set up has a number of implications.
Family disharmony does not emanate from heightened family conflicts but because the family lacks one revered centre of power, the father. While multiple centers of power result to strained intra family relations, the effects are experienced socially.
During social function it becomes difficult to have an established the order of recognition. Like King Solomon, family heads, as well as pastors need to have wisdom on how to retain the harmonious family so that god can continue using it as the platform for His work (Scaer 83, 86).
God sees the family not only the basic unit through which He reaches the world but also as a way of establishing social order. This means that the family plays a crucial role to the buildup of worshipping society. Like Christianity where the God is the father, the worshipping family should be controlled by the revered father.
However, the modern family has been altered with many center of power emerging. This does not mean that the role of the family in the eyes of God has been watered down as God still uses the family today like He did during biblical times.
Works Cited
Churton, Tobias. The missing family of Jesus: An inconvenient truth – How the church erased Jesus’s brothers and sisters from history. Oxon, MA: Watkins Publishers. 2010. Print.
Mathew 12: 49. New International Version. n.d. Web.
Scaer, David. The Christian family in today’s society viewed in a biblical perspective. Concordia Theological Quarterly 54. 2-3 1990. Web.