Nilalang  nga ng Diyos ang tao ayon sa kanyang larawan. Sila’y Kanyang nilalang na isang lalaki at isang babae, at sila’y pinagpala Niya. Sinabi Niya, magpakarami kayo at punuin ninyo ng inyong mga anak ang buong daigdig, at kayo ang mamahala nito.

Genesis 1:27-28

Has the family designed by God gone out of style in today’s modern world? It is this: One man and one woman who love each other, united by God to bear children and manage His creation (Genesis 1:28).

But because of different challenges and problems married couples face, may mga pagsasamang nauuwi sa hiwalayan. The promise they have made in front of God, that only death could separate them, had been broken. Para bang kinalimutan na nila ang sinabi ni Jesus sa Matthew 19:6, “So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

Dito na umusbong ang single-parent family setup, which is different from what God wanted to happen. In the beginning when God created man, sinabi Niya, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him” (Genesis 2:18). This is why He created the woman, and brought her to the man (Genesis 2:21–22). Alam ni Lord, mahirap gampanan ng nag-iisang magulang ang purpose Niya para sa pamilya.

And then there’s some people who shun the institution of marriage altogether. People live together and start a family without the blessing of the Lord. The Apostle Paul warns us in 1 Corinthians 6:18, “Flee from sexual immorality.” Kasama dito ang fornication (sex outside of marriage) and adultery (married person having sex with somebody other than his/her spouse). In the Old Testament, mabigat ang consequences for children na bunga ng maling relasyon: “No one born of a forbidden marriage[a] nor any of their descendants may enter the assembly of the Lord, not even in the tenth generation” (Deuteronomy 23:2). But the coming of Jesus changed that. We are not under law anymore but under grace.

Thank God for the gift of family. If we have sinned in any way in our family, we have a gracious, merciful, and compassionate God. He is ready to forgive our sins. And He can make things right again.