It Is Not Conditional
March 9
EXODUS 20:12-17
“Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you” (v. 12).
I grew up with the understanding that honoring my father was the only commandment to which a promise was directly attached. I wanted to honor him, but in my mind, I felt that my father had to earn my honor toward him. I grew up harboring anger and bitterness, scanning his actions as I decided whether to approve them or to judge him through the lens of my self-imposed oversight. Over the years, my dad came to know the Lord Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior, and just as I was starting to truly honor him, he passed away. I realized I had subconsciously conditioned my decision to honor him based on my own understanding of grace and my unwillingness to love my father. Do you have any father figure in your life whom you might be responding to the same way?
Lord, help us to see our own father figures as Christ sees them. AMEN.
About the Author
Michel Ndiom
I have served as pastor of mission and outreach at Green Timber Covenant Church since 2017. I moved to the Surrey area from Cameroon 13 years ago. Before coming to Green Timbers, I was planting/lead pastor of Bethel World Outreach Church in greater Vancouver. I am licensed by the Covenant as a bivocational pastor and am pursuing ordination. I also work at the Ministry of Children and Family Development and manage a private counseling practice. I have a master’s of social work and am a registered social worker with the Canadian Social Worker Association. Throughout my professional life I have worked in many culturally diverse and peopleoriented roles. I have a passion for learning new cultures and languages and find fulfillment in working where cultures blend. My wife, Viviane, and I have four kids, Shekinah, Shiloh, Zoe, and Joshua.
