When you think about family.

 

Family. For some, family is a happy, healthy, and comforting thing, but for others, it can be quite a painful word. For some, hearing the word family brings thoughts of warmth and love, but there are also those who feel anxiety, or fear, or anger, some even feel bitterness or regret. Family is supposed to be a beautiful gift; there are many verses in the Bible that speak about how a wife and children are a blessing and a gift from the Lord. "He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord." (Proverbs 18:22 ESV) And turning to Psalm 127:3-5 ESV, we read, "Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them!" Proverbs 17:6 ESV says, "Grandchildren are the crown of the aged, and the glory of children is their fathers."

Family is meant to be a gift, but because we live in a sinful world, many families are broken, so does that mean some just have to go it alone? No! There is a family we can be a part of that has a perfect Father. In Psalm 27:10 ESV, we see that we are not left to be orphans, "For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the Lord will take me in." John 14:18 ESV also tells us this when it says, "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you." God is our Father! We can find comfort in the words of 2 Corinthians 6:18 ESV, which says, "I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.” In 1 John 3:1-2 ESV, John tells us, "See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is."

When we, by the Holy Spirit, become children of God, it is through the redeeming work of Christ Jesus, the Son of God. When speaking of the redeeming work of Christ, Ephesians 2:18-19 ESV says, "For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God."

Today, we celebrate family. Some will enjoy time with their relatives, while others may be feeling the sting of sins' effect on their family. But for those of us whom God has called to be His children, we can celebrate the family that God has adopted us into. We can spend time with those whom we call brothers and sisters in Christ. "So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith." (Galatians 6:10 ESV) If today, and the thought of family makes you sad, remember, as God’s children, we are not alone. We can be thankful for the family God has given us. If you aren't a member of the body of Christ, turn to God, seek His amazing and undeserved grace, and let the redeeming work of Christ graft you into God's family. 

"But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God." (John 1:12-13 ESV).