Topical Bible: Love to Man: should be Exhibited, Toward: Our Families

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Love within the family unit is a foundational principle deeply rooted in biblical teachings. The Scriptures emphasize the importance of expressing love toward family members, highlighting it as a reflection of God's love for humanity. This love is not merely an emotion but is demonstrated through actions, commitment, and selflessness.

Biblical Mandate for Family Love

The Bible provides clear instructions on the necessity of love within the family. In Ephesians 5:25, husbands are commanded, "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her." This verse underscores the sacrificial nature of love that husbands should exhibit, mirroring Christ's love for the church. Similarly, wives are encouraged to love their husbands and children, as seen in Titus 2:4, which instructs older women to "train the young women to love their husbands and children."

Parental Love and Responsibility

Parents are called to nurture their children with love and guidance. Proverbs 22:6 advises, "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." This training is to be done in love, as Ephesians 6:4 warns fathers, "Do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord." The love of parents is to be patient, kind, and enduring, reflecting the attributes of love described in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7.

Sibling Love and Unity

The love between siblings is also a significant aspect of family relationships. The account of Joseph and his brothers in Genesis illustrates the complexities of sibling relationships and the power of forgiveness and reconciliation. In the New Testament, 1 John 4:20-21 challenges believers, "If anyone says, 'I love God,' but hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And we have this commandment from Him: Whoever loves God must love his brother as well."

Honoring Parents

Children are instructed to honor their parents, a commandment with a promise. Ephesians 6:1-3 states, "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 'Honor your father and mother' (which is the first commandment with a promise), 'that it may go well with you and that you may have a long life on the earth.'" This honor is a form of love that acknowledges the role and sacrifices of parents.

The Family as a Reflection of God's Love

The family is often seen as a microcosm of the church and a reflection of God's kingdom. Colossians 3:14-15 encourages believers, "And over all these virtues put on love, which is the bond of perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, for to this you were called as members of one body. And be thankful." Love within the family fosters unity and peace, serving as a testament to the transformative power of God's love.

In summary, the Bible calls for love to be exhibited within the family through sacrificial actions, nurturing guidance, mutual respect, and unity. This love is a testament to the divine love that God has for His creation and serves as a model for relationships within the broader community.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

Ephesians 5:25
Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Titus 2:4
That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

Christian Devotedness, Etc.
... mind with a conviction of the sincerity of our love of the ... will go forth; you will
see every man looking on ... Should any one rise, and say, However this may be ...
/.../groves/christian devotedness/christian devotedness etc.htm

Philippians iv. 14-Oct
... faithful were then in affliction, his love was great. ... And the poor man was similarly
disposed toward the ... if captives taken from divers cities should arise and ...
/.../homily xv philippians iv 14-oct.htm

The Conversion of the Ethiopian Eunuch.
... thankfully accept of this token of divine love, this support of ... conduct, "We will
not have this man to reign ... enemies, which would not that I should reign over ...
/.../dick/lectures on the acts of the apostles/lecture xi the conversion of.htm

From the Close of the General Conference in 1796, to the ...
... said, indeed, that his very countenance exhibited such marks ... the "fruit of the Spirit,
love, faith, meekness ... otherwise than that such a man should be prepared ...
/.../chapter 3 from the close.htm

Exposition of the Moral Law.
... and faithful husband, so he stipulates for love and conjugal ... is no small incitement
to the zeal of man to know ... Should any one expect some secret meaning in the ...
/.../calvin/the institutes of the christian religion/chapter 8 exposition of the.htm

Various Experiences in Gospel Work
... We told the brother that if the man and his wife would ... not give us the spirit of
fear, but of love, of power ... wild animal of my dream and that I should trust God ...
/.../cole/trials and triumphs of faith/chapter xiv various experiences in.htm

Introduction
... his enthusiasm and spoiling the joy with which his heart should always run ... Have they
chilled our love? ... There is somewhere a story of a man who, on his fiftieth ...
//christianbookshelf.org/jackson/the message and the man/introduction.htm

On Marriage.
... of these it is the part of the man, to whom ... that an exclusive and unlimited authority
should belong to ... the husband, then, take this freedom-giving love as his ...
/.../schleiermacher/selected sermons of schleiermacher/vii on marriage.htm

Be Ye Doers of the Word, not Hearers Only, Deceiving Your Own ...
... That is reason enough why you should not do it ... practical truth into your minds you
love it, and love to feel ... Woe to that man who admits the truth, and yet turns ...
/.../finney/lectures to professing christians/be ye doers of the.htm

Hebrew Captives; Or, Mordecai and Esther.
... emergency, his courtiers suggested that he should collect in ... Mordecai was a man of
a noble heart, grand ... womanhood could never return his love"indeed, could ...
/.../headley/half hours in bible lands volume 2/hebrew captives or mordecai and.htm