Silas
Beloved of All
Your longing for real fellowship, joyful laughter, peace in the home, and a cheerful heart reflects the heart of God Himself. True fellowship is first with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ, and when we walk in that fellowship with Him, we are able to have genuine fellowship with one another. Scripture shows that joy is not trivial, a cheerful heart is like good medicine, and Jesus Himself rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit. The Father anointed the Son with the oil of gladness, and from His fullness we receive grace and joy. It is right to ask God for that kind of gladness to fill your home, and for your relationships to be marked by prayer, worship, and thankfulness.
You also spoke about adoption and about your son. This is at the very center of the gospel. Jesus is the only begotten Son of the Father, one with the Father, fully honored as the Father is honored. No one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son reveals Him. We are not sons in that same unique way. We become sons and daughters through adoption. God sent His Son, born under the law, to redeem those under the law so that we might receive adoption as sons, and because we are sons He has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts crying, Abba, Father. Even though we are adopted, it is a real sonship, with a real inheritance, and we are born again by the Spirit into His family. Understanding that helps us grasp both how deeply God loves us and how He calls us to love and train children. To teach a child the Scriptures from an early age, to talk of them when you sit at home and when you walk along the way, and to bring him up in the training and instruction of the Lord is one of the greatest callings a father has. Praying that your son would know that adopting love of God, and that he would see it lived out in honor and respect within the family, is exactly right. Children are called to honor their parents and parents are called not to provoke their children but to nurture them in the Lord.
Your prayer for hearts to be turned toward one another and for a regular, scheduled time to see your son is understandable and good. God cares about time and seasons, and He does turn hearts as water is directed in His hand. Like the father who saw his prodigal son while he was still a long way off and ran to him with compassion, put the best robe on him and the ring of sonship on his hand, God is a God of restoration. He restores what sin has broken, whether in a life, a body, or a family. At the same time He teaches us both through His Word and through His loving discipline, so that we grow in knowledge, discernment, and knowledge of His will. Continue to ask for that wisdom and discernment you mentioned, that love would abound with clear understanding of what is right. That kind of wisdom protects us from deception, from empty talk, from evil influences and from those who claim to know God but deny Him by their lives.
You mentioned pursuing peace and holiness, purity of heart, and the provision for peace in 1 Corinthians 7:15. God does call us to pursue peace with everyone and holiness without which no one will see the Lord, and the pure in heart will see God. In marriage, which God designed as a lifelong covenant between one man and one woman, He calls us to faithfulness, to honor, and to seek reconciliation where possible. If an unbelieving spouse chooses to leave, Scripture acknowledges that the believing one is not bound to force the union to continue, but the overall call is to seek peace, to be faithful, to pray for the other to find true peace with God through justification by faith in Jesus Christ alone, and to live a life that reflects a transformed worldview. It is right to pray for her to be delivered from deception and temptation and kept from the evil one, as Jesus prayed for His own, and to pray the same protection over yourself and your son. It is also right to pray for protection from evil people and impostors, and to ask God to keep your home from what is false and harmful while you walk in truth.
Keep asking in the name of Jesus, with faith and patience, trusting that the promises of God are yes and amen in Christ. God honors faith that believes He is and that He rewards those who seek Him, and through faith and patience we inherit what He has promised. Keep thanking Him in advance as you pray, and keep guarding your own heart to walk in righteousness, love, and self control.
May the Lord grant you wisdom for every decision about communication and time with your son, turn hearts toward Himself and toward one another in a way that honors Him, fill your home with the joy and gladness that comes from His fullness, establish you in peace and holiness, and keep you all from the evil one. May He deepen in you and in your son the assurance of His adopting love through Jesus, and may He be honored in all that you pursue.
You also spoke about adoption and about your son. This is at the very center of the gospel. Jesus is the only begotten Son of the Father, one with the Father, fully honored as the Father is honored. No one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son reveals Him. We are not sons in that same unique way. We become sons and daughters through adoption. God sent His Son, born under the law, to redeem those under the law so that we might receive adoption as sons, and because we are sons He has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts crying, Abba, Father. Even though we are adopted, it is a real sonship, with a real inheritance, and we are born again by the Spirit into His family. Understanding that helps us grasp both how deeply God loves us and how He calls us to love and train children. To teach a child the Scriptures from an early age, to talk of them when you sit at home and when you walk along the way, and to bring him up in the training and instruction of the Lord is one of the greatest callings a father has. Praying that your son would know that adopting love of God, and that he would see it lived out in honor and respect within the family, is exactly right. Children are called to honor their parents and parents are called not to provoke their children but to nurture them in the Lord.
Your prayer for hearts to be turned toward one another and for a regular, scheduled time to see your son is understandable and good. God cares about time and seasons, and He does turn hearts as water is directed in His hand. Like the father who saw his prodigal son while he was still a long way off and ran to him with compassion, put the best robe on him and the ring of sonship on his hand, God is a God of restoration. He restores what sin has broken, whether in a life, a body, or a family. At the same time He teaches us both through His Word and through His loving discipline, so that we grow in knowledge, discernment, and knowledge of His will. Continue to ask for that wisdom and discernment you mentioned, that love would abound with clear understanding of what is right. That kind of wisdom protects us from deception, from empty talk, from evil influences and from those who claim to know God but deny Him by their lives.
You mentioned pursuing peace and holiness, purity of heart, and the provision for peace in 1 Corinthians 7:15. God does call us to pursue peace with everyone and holiness without which no one will see the Lord, and the pure in heart will see God. In marriage, which God designed as a lifelong covenant between one man and one woman, He calls us to faithfulness, to honor, and to seek reconciliation where possible. If an unbelieving spouse chooses to leave, Scripture acknowledges that the believing one is not bound to force the union to continue, but the overall call is to seek peace, to be faithful, to pray for the other to find true peace with God through justification by faith in Jesus Christ alone, and to live a life that reflects a transformed worldview. It is right to pray for her to be delivered from deception and temptation and kept from the evil one, as Jesus prayed for His own, and to pray the same protection over yourself and your son. It is also right to pray for protection from evil people and impostors, and to ask God to keep your home from what is false and harmful while you walk in truth.
Keep asking in the name of Jesus, with faith and patience, trusting that the promises of God are yes and amen in Christ. God honors faith that believes He is and that He rewards those who seek Him, and through faith and patience we inherit what He has promised. Keep thanking Him in advance as you pray, and keep guarding your own heart to walk in righteousness, love, and self control.
May the Lord grant you wisdom for every decision about communication and time with your son, turn hearts toward Himself and toward one another in a way that honors Him, fill your home with the joy and gladness that comes from His fullness, establish you in peace and holiness, and keep you all from the evil one. May He deepen in you and in your son the assurance of His adopting love through Jesus, and may He be honored in all that you pursue.
