A Happy Home

How joyful are those who fear the LORD—all who follow his ways! . . . Your wife will be like a fruitful grapevine, flourishing within your home. Your children will be like vigorous young olive trees as they sit around your table. That is the LORD’s blessing for those who fear him.

Psalm 128:1, 3-4

FOR THE AVERAGE Israelite, the dream was not a house on the beach or an estate in Scotland but a plot of land that grew grapes and olives. Wine and olive oil were two of the staples of life, and the person who had a measure of each was truly blessed.

But the psalmist took it a step further. “You want to see God’s greatest blessing? The first blessing is a good, loving, and healthy wife. The second is children full of life and spunk.” In other words, the blessing for those who followed the Lord included a happy, joyous, and fulfilled family—a spouse, kids, grandkids. The whole shebang.

If you ever question whether God cares about you, don’t look at the bank accounts, the number of rooms in your house, or the backyard in-ground pool. God’s care can be found in other ways. For example, look at the faces around your table. If they’re smiling and laughing and just enjoying a great meal together, you will know God’s face is shining on you.