day no. 16,935: the house of God rules over the houses of men

Psalm 87:2

The Lord loves the gates of Zion

more than all the dwelling places of Jacob.

The Lord God loves the assembled families of men in worship at His house more than He does the individual families of men leading their times of family worship in their homes. This is not to say that He does not love families. He does. To love one thing more than another is not to have no love for the first. But it does highlight a particular emphasis or order.

You cannot make an omelet without eggs and you cannot have a congregation without families, but neither can you have an omelet if the eggs stay in the carton or a congregation if all the families stay home. There is something special about everyone getting out of their own bed, getting dressed in their own clothes, driving their own vehicles, and gathering together to a common place on a common day to worship a common God. The gathering of the saints on the Lord’s Day to worship God with His people is unique. It does not happen on a Tuesday evening. That isn’t to say that your Tuesday night with your family in worship is unimportant. If anything, it is to say that family worship at home is all the more important because it prepares your particular people to better worship your God with the rest of His people the following Sunday. 

Ephesians 3:14

For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named.

We are grateful for the gifts of God and for godly families, but families are derivative, not substantive. They are important because God is important. Fathers matter because God the Father Almighty matters. Families matter because the family of God matters. Your house matters because the House of God matters. Family worship is special because the family of God is special.