Sep 6, 2026 | Ptr. Edric Mendoza
Families today are facing many challenges. Beyond financial pressures, career priorities, delayed marriage, and other social changes, there is a deeper issue: misdirected love. Paul describes the last days as a time when people will be “lovers of self,” lovers of money and pleasure rather than lovers of God (2 Timothy 3:1-5).
When love becomes centered on ourselves—what we want, what gives us pleasure, and what advances our own interests—our relationships suffer. The answer is to redirect our love: love God, love our family, and love others.
LOVE GOD
Jesus summarized God’s law in two commands: love God with all your heart, soul, and mind, and love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37-40).
To love God with our whole being means there are no compartments of life that are off-limits to Him. God does not want only our Sunday mornings; He wants to be the operating system that runs every area of our lives—our work, marriage, parenting, finances, relationships, rest, and recreation.
So we must honestly ask: What am I holding back from God? Perhaps it is a relationship, a business decision, an unresolved hurt, or something we simply do not want Him to touch.
Scripture reminds us that “we love because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). God demonstrated His love for us while we were still sinners by sending Christ to die for us (Romans 5:8). He removes our sins “as far as the east is from the west” (Psalm 103:12).
We can love God because He first loved us. The question is: Have you received God’s love? When we receive His grace and surrender our lives to Him, His love begins to overflow through us toward our families and others.
LOVE YOUR FAMILY
Jesus commands us to love our neighbor as ourselves. Our closest neighbors are often the people within our own homes. Therefore, loving others begins with loving our families.
For marriage, God’s design is for husbands and wives to reflect Christ and the Church (Ephesians 5:22-33). Husbands are called to love their wives sacrificially, as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for her. Wives are called to submit, honor, respect, and support their husbands. Marriage is meant to showcase the covenant relationship between Christ and His Church.
This matters because children see what marriage looks like. When husbands love sacrificially and wives respond with submission, honor and respect, they give their children a picture of God’s design. When marriage is marked by selfishness and conflict, that picture can become distorted.
Yet brokenness does not have to be the end of the story. One couple shared how infidelity nearly destroyed their marriage. Neither had yet experienced Christ’s transforming love, and their brokenness led to further brokenness. But after encountering the gospel, both surrendered their lives to Jesus. God’s love enabled them to forgive, heal, and rebuild their marriage. Their restored family eventually became a testimony to others. Only God can heal and restore marriages in this way.
For parents, loving our children means intentionally discipling them. The goal is not simply that our children behave well, succeed academically, or become successful adults. The goal is that they learn to love God with all they have (Deuteronomy 6:5-7).
Parents must first model this love themselves and then teach it diligently to their children. Like arrows that are sharpened through repeated friction, children need consistent guidance and discipleship so they are prepared for what God has called them to do.
Loving Disciple-Tips
1. Build Luke 2:52 convictions.
Jesus grew in wisdom, stature, and favor with God and people (Luke 2:52). These provide a helpful framework for teaching children to make godly decisions. Rather than simply telling children what to do, help them develop convictions: *Will this help me grow in wisdom, stature, favor with God, and favor with others?*
2. Adapt parenting and discipline.
Children are different, and parenting must adapt accordingly. Proverbs 22:6 reminds us to train children in the way they should go. Young children need clear authority; older children need explanation and guidance; and as they mature, parents can increasingly become consultants who ask questions and help them make wise decisions.
3. Be a fighter-jet parent.
Instead of merely hovering over children, parents must be ready to address dangers, especially in the digital world. Philippians 4:8 commands us to dwell on what is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, and worthy of praise.
One practical approach is reducing unnecessary screen use can make room for family conversations, play, outdoor activities, and meaningful relationships.
4. Focus on faithfulness.
Parents can easily place overwhelming expectations on their children. Instead of telling them to “change the world,” teach them to be faithful with what God has placed before them today. We do our best with what God has entrusted to us and allow Him to take care of the fruitfulness.
Children, in turn, are called to lovingly obey and honor their parents (Ephesians 6:1-4). Obedience and honor are not merely outward actions; they reflect a heart that recognizes God’s design for the family.
For every family relationship, 1 Corinthians 13 provides a simple checklist: Am I patient? Am I kind? Am I not jealous, boastful, arrogant, or easily provoked? Am I forgiving? Am I rejoicing in truth? Am I bearing, believing, hoping, and enduring?
LOVE OTHERS
Jesus takes love even further. Rather than simply loving others as ourselves, He gives a new commandment: love others as He has loved us (John 13:34).
Christlike love is therefore connected to His mission—to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19-20). To love others means caring for them, sharing the gospel, helping them follow Jesus, and journeying with them as disciples.
Loving Others Checklist Ask yourself: Do people see Christlike love and genuine care in me? Do I share the gospel whenever possible? Am I making disciples as I go? Do I rally my family to do the same? Do we serve Jesus together as a family?
God’s mission is not merely an individual mission. It is a great co-mission—something we can live out together with our spouse, children, and spiritual family.
Yet Jesus also gives a strong warning: our love for family must never replace our love for Him or our commitment to His mission (Luke 14:26; Matthew 10:37). When Jesus says we must “hate” father, mother, spouse, children, and even our own lives, He is not commanding hatred. He is emphasizing that our love for Him must be greater than every competing love.
Even family cannot become the end goal. We love our families so that our homes can reflect Christ and so that we can remain faithful to His mission together.
The message is simple: Love God. Love your family. Love others. Redirect your love away from self, pleasure, and personal desires and toward God. Receive His love, allow Him to transform your relationships, and remain faithful to His mission. May our marriages showcase Christ, our families become places of discipleship, and our lives become channels through which others encounter the love and grace of Jesus.