Our Little Heaven Down Here

Today’s Devotional – Sunday, January 10, 2021

How wonderful and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony.

Psalm 133:1 (NLT)

A favourite children’s song has the following lyrics:

“…and the way to be happy is to make someone happy and to have a little heaven down here,”

This song has important lessons that Christians can learn, especially from the family’s point of view.

The song’s lyrics remind us that God intended the family to be a place of immense joy for those in it. The Psalmist compared the harmony of a family to the anointing oil, flowing down Aaron’s head and beard during the High Priest’s anointing.

The family is under siege in contemporary society. Reports of husbands killing wives (and vice versa) and children becoming collateral damage are all too common. Young people being physically and sexually abused is a daily occurrence. Divorce and broken families are the order of the day. Never-ending family feuds keep courts of justice busy.

The household is in jeopardy. So divided is it that we have forgotten God’s original purpose for this institution.

On the last day of the creation week, God established the family. The Creator instructed Adam and Eve to multiply and fill the earth. God was so delighted with the final product that He pronounced it ‘very good’ (Genesis 1:31).

Therefore, harmony between parents and children, between spouses and between siblings, is celebrated and blessed by God (Psalm 133:3).

Action points

1. Pray that your family will be a ‘little heaven down here’; a place where Christ and His angels love to dwell because of the inherent harmony.
2. Pray for a family member you know is reluctant to forgive another family member.

Prayer

Father God, please continue reminding us of the need to live in harmony with each other and especially those in our families. Give us the heart to reach out in forgiveness to family members who have hurt us and those we have hurt. Amen