Lost the balanced view of the family

                The pastors of my father's generation devotedly served the Lord's church.  Perhaps they are obedient to the God's word, Matthew 10:37-38: “Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.”  In contrast to them, I think the second generation pastors who were born in the United States seem to devote themselves in serving their families.  Perhaps they are obediently to the God’s word of 1 Timothy 5:8 – “If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”  I think these two generations have lost some balance.  In other words, each one obeys the Word of God, but I think both of them have tilted to one side.  So I personally think that the relationship between the God’s family, the church and the physical family is as follow: ‘The physical family exists for the spiritual family, the church.’

What is the purpose of the existence of the church?  The purpose of the church's existence is to glorify God by obeying the Word of the Lord, who is the Head of the Church.  And the purpose of our own physical family exists for the body of the Lord, His church.