Sola Devotions

Lessons in the Lutheran Confessions

Scripture Text: Isaiah 5:13

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From the Word: Isaiah 5:13

From the Confessions: The Large Catechism, The Ten Commandments

The Fourth Commandment

Honor your father and your mother, (that your days may be long in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.)

We garner our initial knowledge of the Lord in the home. There, we learn how to honor our parents, and in so learning, we learn that we are not the center of all things. There are those of higher station who have responsibility for us. We are to respect them, and even esteem them because of their vocation. God has given them this standing for our good, so for our own good, we should honor them. Without them and our respect of them, we lose our truest selves by forgetting where we came from, disregarding the source of all our earthly welfare. Without this knowledge, this appreciation, we are hard-pressed to recognize God, let alone honor him, even when he reveals himself in preaching and Scripture.

Pulling It Together: We garner our initial knowledge of the Lord in the home. There, we learn how to honor our parents, and in so learning, we learn that we are not the center of all things. There are those of higher station who have responsibility for us. We are to respect them, and even esteem them because of their vocation. God has given them this standing for our good, so for our own good, we should honor them. Without them and our respect of them, we lose our truest selves by forgetting where we came from, forgetting the source of all our earthly welfare. Without this knowledge, this appreciation, we are hard-pressed to recognize God, let alone honor him, even when he reveals himself in preaching and Scripture.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, give me a trust in you that allows me to honor my parents. Amen.

Will You Betray Me? is a five-part drama series focuses on “betrayal” as a central theme. Written in a direct and edgy style, the monologues feature biblical characters that (knowingly or unknowingly) contributed to the betrayal and death of Jesus.  

Author

Mark Ryman

Rev. Mark E. Ryman serves as Pastor for St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Salisbury, NC. Previously, Pastor Ryman has served other congregations in North Carolina and Ohio, as well as a call to specialized ministry with Sola Publishing.