Being a dad, a husband, a son, etc. is tough. Let's face it, living in a community of any kind is difficult, because people are always taking or needing something from you, or you are taking or needing something from them. This is not a rash overstatement, but simple truth.
Some would argue over the reasons for this turmoil and come up with radical, illogical political or social solutions, but that would be missing the BIG PICTURE. You see, community is good and necessary. God has designed us to live together and never alone. In fact, He says that being alone is "not good" (Gen. 2), and this is precisely why He created man and woman in harmony with using the plural (Gen 1:27-28).
Community might be a pain in the neck at times, but that is because of sin. My sin and your sin, because all sin separates (Gen. 3). To live a happy life is not to live in solitude or in man-created communes, but to enjoy the redemption of Jesus and live in holy community with Him at the center (See Leviticus and Rev. 21). But, before we can enjoy this ultimate society, we must first learn to excel in the minors: family.
The redemption offered through Jesus not only cures our hostility with God, but also our hostility with our fellow man. When a person becomes a Christian, the first area of his life that is to be impacted is his household. (Check out the Bible: God saves households because one person is saved first.) If this does not happen, then something has gone terribly wrong or has failed to be enacted.
My question for all of us is this: Are we living in Holy Communion in our families?
