Brothers Who Have Disobedient and Dissolute Children

Brothers Who Have Disobedient and Dissolute Children

Much can be said about this in many different ways; God’s goodness is unspeakably great, and we can only find His ways in part. Yet how great it is that we, in spirit and in truth, have the opportunity of finding them in part.

It is a natural, human thought that when we belong to something as holy as the body of Christ (which is the church), we have to be blameless in everything, or we are a cause of reproach to God’s great name, a reproach that is harmful to the church, a reproach that is harmful to God’s work and thus to God Himself.

For this reason, brothers who have dissolute children can be strongly tempted to draw back and give up altogether. At the least they have a desire to stay in the background and be quiet in the meetings.

I want to console such brothers in the name of Jesus Christ with these words: You have no good reason to do this, but you have all good reason to be bold and to proclaim the virtues of Christ even more powerfully, praising His holy name! He is truly good!

If God were afraid of losing anything by being reproached in that way, why then did He choose the most wretched people in this world? Why do you think He made them partakers of this high and holy calling? He knew beforehand how everything would turn out. Don’t you think He should have known to preserve His honor by choosing the most excellent ones? Certainly! He is mighty to look after His own honor. But now we hear and see that He has acted differently. He thinks differently, and we can be certain they are such thoughts that will show His honor to be greater, even much greater, than if He had only chosen the noblest and excluded the weakest and lowliest—those who think they are such a dishonor that we are ashamed of them. See 1 Corinthians 12:23.

But isn’t it written that we shall have our children in submission with all reverence? 1 Tim. 3.

Far from it! That is not at all what is written! This is only required of the overseers of the churches, their visible heads, for they represent Christ, the head of the entire church (His body). He is our Sanctifier, the One who works on our sanctification, on our salvation. Therefore it is reasonable that the overseer (who represents Him) is himself blameless before the ones with whom he is working and overseeing.

The rest of the church represents the body that is to be saved or sanctified—and they can be as wretched and poor (i.e., when it is a matter of rearing children) as they can possibly be if only they have the faith of Christ—then they will, in this faith, little by little, be equipped for every good work. Nevertheless, according to God’s good righteousness, they will still harvest the fruits of their previous poor way of rearing their children.

They may thus receive or have many disobedient, unbelieving, or dissolute children and still be on the inside; and not only that (and here we need wisdom), they can even be given the greatest honor.

God’s holy, blessed, and inexpressible name be praised!

Let us now consider what will happen to God’s honor. What is most honorable: to bear with an excellent soul and make something out of him, or to do the same with a lowlier soul!?

Of course, the worse the material, the greater the masterpiece and the honor if you can make something valuable out of it!

This also applies to God’s co-workers! According to this they must show the greatest interest in the ones who seem to be less honorable.

The brothers who are embarrassed because of their lowlier brothers should also be comforted by these facts so that we can all praise God’s goodness from the depths of our hearts with the same understanding.