A.L.T.A.R.

I can’t overestimate how important family altar time is for us. It is the place to begin and the place to come when our day is nearing its close. I developed the A.L.T.A.R. acronym to remind myself and all of my family of the basic elements that helps us grow in relationship with God. When we engage in these activities together, we also grow in relationship with each other! We were created to have an intimate one-on-one relationship with our Almighty Creator and yet God didn’t put us on separate islands, alone, which he most certainly could have done. He placed us in community, and the basic building block of our human community is the family. Every human life that has ever existed on earth has begun with a family unit — a father, a mother, and a child — that is the simple biology of human existence; the actuality of creation when we examine it in its most basic form. Regardless of the circumstances of how the procreation was actually effected, we can’t deny this basic truth. That God intended there to be a community of two persons, male and female, to create a third new life. When I reflect on the reasons why we as a family are called to grow together in relationship with God, I am reminded of this very basic truth. God’s ideal plan for us is grounded in His desire for us to pray together, to worship together, to love together, to petition together, and even to repent together — all of which contribute to our growing together in holiness. This doesn’t mean that our family A.L.T.A.R. time is a substitute for our own personal time with God. Family A.L.T.A.R. time should co-exist and prosper alongside personal A.L.T.A.R. time — these are two pillars of faith foundation that nourish, support and build upon each other. When we come together before the Altar of the Divine Presence, we are offering ourselves, our family, our gifts, our time, all that we have now and hope to offer in the future, to our Heavenly Father, modeling the sacrificial offering of our dear Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ.