And God Spoke These Words: Fifth Commandment

"Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you." (Exodus 20:12, NRSV)

The previous commands are concern with Honoring God. This commandment shifts away from God to honoring parents. Although the implication is that by honoring your parents you honor God. The literally and understood meaning is not hat you obey everything that you parents tell you to do--because surely they are fallen just as everybody is. However, you honor them in their old age (you take care of them).

Parents have the awesome responsiblity of representing God to their children. Parents have the responsible to teach and disciple their children in the faith. Children are then given the responsiblity to take care of, honor their parents, when their parents retire, or in their old age. What does that look like in our society? Does that mean shipping parents off to nursing homes? Does that mean providing for their care? What does in mean to take care of--to honor them? One of the questions people fail to answer when their consider what to do with their parents when the get older and need to be taken care of is to ask the question is--do I want to be treated the same way when I get old that I am treating or caring for my parents?

Then there is a promise--a promise of long life. However the promise is not an individual promise of long life--but a corporate promise of residing in God's promised land for a long time. If we as a community honor our parents, God will continue to provide mercy on our community. We get to keep receiving God's gracious gifts. The question is what is God's gracious gift? Mainly mercy and grace! (not material!)

Wiping Away the Tears

Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, robed in white, and where have they come from?” I said to him, “Sir, you are the one that knows.” Then he said to me, “These are they who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. For this reason they are before the throne of God, and worship him day and night within his temple, and the one who is seated on the throne will shelter them. They will hunger no more, and thirst no more; the sun will not strike them, nor any scorching heat; for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” Revelation 7:13-17 (NRSV)

I find great comfort in this passage. Despite our failings, despite the hardships of this word. God will wipe away the tears. I love holding my children and helping them wipe away the tears and comforting them from the pain of this world. It hurts me as my children are in painful or when the suffer through the consequences of this broken world. All I want to do is hold them and wipe away the tears. It is good to know when it is all said and done, my tears will be wiped away by the embrace of the Heavenly Father.