The wall and ceiling in the room where I sit have been reconciled to support each other. They are aligned to make sound perpendicular and parallel planes. A plumb bob, a square, and a level helped the builder follow multiple ninety-degree blueprint patterns in this space and other similar ones when they were constructed. Also, when you hang a picture on the wall, if you want it to appear to be parallel to the floor, you should use a small level to check it after it is hung. A glass enclosed air bubble that is equidistant between two marks in the exact center of that level confirms the visual image of two parallel planes, even if the floor is not perfectly level. The picture is crooked if this view is not achieved. Natural law maintains that there are certain architectural designs that should be perpendicular and/or parallel. If they are not, it is best to reconcile them to achieve a stylish, sturdy, enduring structure.
From middle school through college, I played a musical instrument in several bands. Before each performance, my bandmates and I tuned our instruments so we could achieve harmonious sounds. Often the conductor used an electronic tuning device to help achieve this. For example, when he tuned one clarinet, he would use that instrument as the reference pitch to reconcile the other clarinets. (He didn’t employ a saxophone for this because you just can’t tune a saxophone – family joke). Each instrument, everyone from trombone to trumpet, was similarly tuned, comparing them to their corresponding instrument’s true reference pitch. A tuning fork can also assist with accomplishing this. Each note was adjusted to ensure accurate pitch without which tone, volume and rhythm of scored notes would fail to produce harmonious music for the pleasure of the musicians and their audience. The natural law of most musical composition requires this symmetry.
Like the structure of a building that needs to be supported, or musical notes that require orchestration, a family structure must be unified and true. To introduce propositions from the textual cues of Christianity about a structurally sound and well-tuned family life, one script clearly supports this claim, and it will suffice here: Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it…. – Psalm 127:1 (NET) What does this mean? Briefly, poorly formed family life will decay and become waste. Why? God is the source of observable soundness. You can see it and hear it – in short, recognize it and live it. Realities learned from both His biblical narratives and His created natural law, prevent collapse. Similarly to the natural outcome laws of a poorly tuned orchestra or a misaligned wall and ceiling, when faithful pattern principles are unknown, forgotten or discarded, families will fall into physical ruin.
Christians are committed to being both biblical textualists, and students of the observable, commonsense context of natural law that give rise to exceptional family life.
It is vital to believe that it is possible that troubled relationships can be reconciled and harmonized before they are lost. Broken hearts, muddled thinking and inappropriate behavior can be changed. To answer the question; how can we do this? Stay tuned.