Recently I’ve been thinking about Esther 14:14: “For such a time as this . . .”

This final encouragement from Mordecai encouraged his cousin Esther to act more bravely than she ever had before on behalf of her family.

For you and me, it is a different context, but the message is the same: we can’t wait! We can’t wait for someone to raise our family, we can’t wait to take a stand on moral issues, we can’t wait for someone to educate our children. We have to be bold, and stand for Christ and his message.

When I think about the condition of family, I think of the brokenness in our world. I see broken homes, addiction, gay marriage, abuse, infidelity, neglect – the list could go on and it should, but I also think about the hope and promise God has for us. There is new life, childhood joy, love, support, encouragement, marriages between a man and a woman. My greatest blessing comes knowing that this list could go on too. Ultimately, God has the future of humanity, his image bearers, rooted in family.

When I reflect on my own family, I see God’s blessings in laughter, health, growth, and settling in to a new community; however, I also see our difficulties in parent-child relationships, academic challenges, sibling rivalry, and little bodies that get physically broken at times. All of these blessings and difficulties are planted in a family plan and purpose that God has for my family, your family, and all families.

When I consider God’s purpose for family, I see a perfect structure for serving and glorifying God – and for changing and creating earthly culture for heavenly good. We are called to do these things, and there is no better way than to do this as a family of individuals raised and taught in that family.

Family is the most basic and important unit in society. We must strain against the effects of sin to preserve family, particularly Christian ones – “for such a time as this!”