We go into the union with implicit purposes that are as divergent as the emotional needs of both gender! Externally we are "in love" and want to be together forever but in being together, do we want to build together a single unified identity? The bible says the 2 shall become one flesh! This has nothing to do with anything external as there never can be a point of convergence due to differences in personality make up, physical ancestry, culture and familial history. But, God makes for each couple, a home in Christ that supersedes that which is physical.

The man and his woman (wife) must both be ready to step into this place in Christ where everything fades into the unity of one in Christ? A place of yielded-ness and surrender to God for His Fatherhood over them, to be mentored by His Spirit for the journey they have both embarked.

"They will be my people, and I will be their God. And I will give them one heart and one purpose: to worship me forever, for their own good and for the good of all their descendants." Jeremiah 32:38‭-‬39 NLT.

The purpose of parenting is to tend/nurture, guard and keep the kingdom of God in our homes; the sanctity of the union and the seeds that we are rewarded with.

Creating an environment for parenting - Eden (living the consecrated life)

For the journey of parenting to be fruitful and produce its God-intended outcome, the man and his woman must start from the place of a unified purpose in God, a synchrony of their individual purposes that aligns with the life God has called us all to live - a life of worship that honors Him. In this place we abandon the baggages of past hurt, misconceptions and false identities that excuse our refusal to surrender who we are to Christ. We take up our identity in Christ; a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His workmanship, His masterpiece created in Christ for good work! The good work of parenting godly seeds.

We must be willing as individuals within that union, to allow the Father transform our minds and bring our nature into conformity with His word concerning us.

Your Family, Your home and Eden.

"Eden" was a typology of family. Gen 2:15 (AMPC) "And the Lord God took man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend, guard and keep it." "God places the solitary in families and gives the desolate a home in which to dwell...". Psalm 68:6a AMPC.

It is God Who takes a man/woman and brings them into companionship with a spouse for His purpose, for kingdom expression and expansion. It is God Who authors a union between a man and a woman; He created them both and has put in each, the peculiar complementarities that make a perfect fit for a power union. Our role is to prepare, our place is to seek His kingdom and it is His job to add the "every other thing" that is needed for a fulfilled life. When we step out of this and go in our wisdom and desires, we become a case study for the family ER (emergency room - marital crisis & failure). We struggle and our seeds get caught up in that struggle, a classic case of the clay getting smeared in the hand of the potter; when our Eden is ruined, we birth in the heart of our children an erroneous pattern that can mar their own future marital journey.

Understanding our roles in the home

The man and his wife have their God given roles that they must perform one to the other in keeping with their responsibility of tending, guarding and keeping each other and their home (children and union). If they don't keep each other, they cannot keep their home neither the seeds they will receive.

Called to Priesthood & Leadership

The father-leader: In keeping with their commitments to one another, the man is called to a life obligation (compelled, bound to) of leadership (over his wife and family). Leaders are people who got to the front row by following and accurate mentorship. As a father, and husband, you cannot lead if you have not been led by God. Where would you lead to? Who is leading you?

When a man becomes a husband and a father, its God's call to a place of leadership and priesthood over God's heritage. A man who has not allowed himself to be fathered by God and mentored by the Holy Spirit will rule his household by the rule of his flesh (his frailties, ambition and selfish desires).

Priest over his household: The father is the priest of his household, the one with direct responsibility to stand before God and present his household before the Father. He seeks God's will for his home and communicates this revealed will to his wife who works with him to execute it.

"But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John". Luke 1:13 NLT.

The father is priest and custodian of the divine blueprint for his family and children. Examples of Abraham, Noah, Adam, Isaac, Joshua, Zechariah and Joseph. As the priest over his household, the father is obligated to a life of sacrifice (a given up to ensuring the spiritual, physical well-being of his family), and devotion (give all or most of ones time or resources to his family) just as Christ exemplified by His life as the Husband of the Church. Christ was obligated to die for the church, He led the first Church by being an example of the life God has called us to inherit, He sacrificed His life to give us access to that life and He lives forever devoted to bringing us through in our walk with Him until He presents us perfect and without blemish before His Father!

Every man is first and foremost called to kingdom service of the King and if he chooses to marry, his wife and family. Man - GOD- PURPOSE-WIFE- FAMILY.

Indeed marriage and family life as precursors of parenting is a great enterprise that warrants that each individual must carefully count the cost and seek an alignment with God and His will, before engaging the process. If we desire to get it right and be aligned with God's eternal purpose for us, these foundations are then non negotiable. God is raising father-leaders in this last days and calling you to "come up higher!". Be assured that His grace is richly supplied to you. You can start and finish strong when you abide in HIM.