This is a time of year when families make plans to be with one another. With Thanksgiving just past and Christmas around the corner, people put their lives in overdrive to prepare for the family get-to-gather. Much preparation is done with anticipation of spending time together. I’ve already begun the process of baking and freezing food so that everyone has their favorite dessert. However, for many, these thoughts are nothing but words on a page. They have no blood relatives they are able to be with or none they care to be with. Some don’t even know their family. It is unclear why they were placed in an orphanage so young they don’t remember being anywhere else. There are also those who are estranged from their family for various reasons. Some are estranged because they chose to leave the faith their family embraced to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior.
Those who have accepted Christ may not be accepted by their blood relatives, but they should be welcomed and accepted by their new family. They are now in the family of God. Those who are Christians have a family for all eternity. When we accept Jesus as our Savior, he not only becomes our Master, he becomes our brother. God becomes our Father by adopting us into his family. As Christians, we should embrace all who name the name of Christ as family. They are blood relatives also. We are related by the most precious blood of all, the blood of Jesus Christ.
John 1:12-13 “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”
There is no greater honor that God could give us than to call us His child and welcome us into His family. We were insignificant creatures, ungrateful, rebellious sinners against a holy God. We were His enemies. I know families that have given up on family members and want nothing to do with them. Yet God, while we were His enemies, offered forgiveness and acceptance. He showed His love and not only gave us a new future but a new purpose, a new hope, and a new family. With family comes a sense of belonging, somewhere to fit in and not feel alone. What kind of love acts this way? A love that forgives, forgets, and gives lavishly. Only God’s love can love us perfectly and offer us a future as His child.
I John 3:1-2 “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”
Don’t allow it to get you down if earthly families treat you wrong. We live in a fallen world that is full of sinful, imperfect people. You may be thinking, “But Christians don’t love me either.” May I remind you Christians aren’t perfect either, we are still a work in progress. Also, there are those who name the name of Christ, but they are not true Christians. It is not what we say that proves we are Christian; it is what we do. Salvation comes as a gift, but once that gift is received, we show that by how we act.
Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
James 2:17 “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.”
To those of us who are Christians, when was the last time you reached out to another Christian who was so different from you? Maybe they were very poor or very ignorant. Maybe they smelled bad or seemed very strange, yet you knew they were your brother or sister in Christ. It is wrong for us to pick and choose our family based on social, economic, or educational status. James calls that “showing respect of persons,” and it is wrong.
James 2:9 “But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.”
When Christ brings others into the family, we must embrace each one as we would a newborn baby. All ground is level at the foot of the cross; we must all come to God the same way, and family is family. We must regard and treat each one as a child of the Most High because that is what they are.
We are to open our lives and our homes to anyone in the family. We are to open our lives and our homes to those not yet in the family to show them what a real family is all about. Put all of your insecurities, pride, and prejudices aside. It doesn’t matter whether you have very little or a lot. We are still to act as any good family member would. Remember, people do not care what you have, but they do care that you care! We need to expand our family while here and get to know them. After all, you will be spending eternity with them!
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