Family

So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family.  (Ephesians 2:19, NLT)

Family means a lot to God.  After all, He established it.  God made man so He would have someone else to love and have relationship with.  He made woman to be a companion for man and share in that love.  And God established a sort of echelon in family.  We read in 1 Corinthians 11:13, “But there is one thing I want you to know: The head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.”  In our earthly and spiritual families, we must adhere to and respect position because failure causes sin and tensions.  God knew there would be difficulty in family responsibilities, to Him and our own, and He provided instructions to help us.

History shows there have always been family problems.  But scripture suggests that in the end, those who bring trouble on their own family or don’t take care of their family members will inherit nothing but disgrace.  Proverbs 11:29 reads, “Whoever brings ruin on their family will inherit only wind, and the fool will be servant to the wise.”  And in 1 Timothy 5:8, “But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”  God values family so much that He warned then and He warns now that we should value and respect what He has established.  He wants love of and for the family to be all inclusive.  And He made a way.

What are we doing to value and protect the sanctity of family?  Are we prideful, unloving, and selfish or are we full of love, selfless, and growing them in the Lord.  We must remember, this is God’s world and we’re just living in it.  The Apostle Paul, who brought the gospel to and welcomed the gentiles into the one body (family), asked that we not be discouraged for His sufferings; that they are our glory, and prayed God would strengthen us through His Spirit.  He said in Ephesians 3:14-15, “For this reason, I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named.”  God named every family and wants a loving relationship with them.  It was no last-minute decision either.  When He made us, He knew He wanted to keep us.  It states in Ephesians 1:5, “God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.”  With God, we are predestined.

Jesus was sent to preserve family in a sense.  After all, we are the church, or at least we should be.  One big ole happy family, or are we?  Jesus showed us how to live.  It’s our choice to execute His example.  He taught us to be humble, love one another, serve versus being served, use our authority to help others, be accepting and inclusive of all, show grace and mercy, offer forgiveness, and have relationship with God.  Hopefully, lessons taught are lessons learned.  Let us incorporate these lessons in our lives and become the family of the godly; not one of trouble, but of love.  Zechariah 7:9 states, “And the word of the LORD came again to Zechariah: “This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. In your hearts do not think evil of each other.”  Let us love our family.  Let us love the church.  Let us execute the lessons of Jesus.