Part 1: Order

“Be fruitful and multiply.”

Genesis 9:7

The verse above is Yahweh’s words to Adam and Eve after He created them. Over the centuries, they have been construed to be a direct commandment to all Christians to have a bunch of kids, but they were originally spoken in the context of a perfect world that had one perfect man and one perfect woman charged with propogating a brand new earth.

Christian households can faithfully aspire to God’s original order in many ways. Single parenthood, infertility, wayward children… all of these, among others, are real-life struggles that do not prevent fruitfulness and multiplication. The ways in which we create, love, steward, shepherd, and serve, including parenting, are marked, if you are a Christian, by the belief that Christ always accepts the humble offerings made in faith, and makes up what is lacking.

All this to say, God’s original plan involved procreating and rearing children who would seek His face and who would steward the good and beautiful world He gave them. In our parenting, therefore, we operate based on the nature of this same God: He desires order, beauty, love, mercy, and boundaries.

1. What are specific ways you bring order to your home?
2. How can we foster more beauty that models and propels our kids to worship?
3. What are your kids’ love languages (words of affirmation, acts of service, physical touch, time, gifts)? What are some ways you show love to your kids? What are some ways you speak love to your kids?
4. How can we be more merciful to our children in a way that is not permissive but points to Christ? Do you have an example?
5. What are some good boundaries you set for your kids or for yourself? (Involving routines, schedules, how we treat each other, bodies, technology, etc.)