A Real Family

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Scripture:

2Cor. 6:18     and I will be your father,
        and you shall be my sons and daughters,
    says the Lord Almighty.”

Observation:

The children of Israel turned their backs on a loving heavenly Father, rejecting the love that he had for them.  Paul was quoting from the Old Testament when he reminded them what God’s intention was in the very beginning.  He wanted us to be a part of his family.  The “Lord Almighty” — the one who is Lord and has power over everything — has a real family into which we are invited.  We are to become full heirs, true sons and daughters of the Father.  The rejection is not only of God, but of the Father, and the family life and everything that comes with it! 

Application:

I’m afraid that too often we want the benefits of being “saved” — that is, “saved” from eternal separation from God, and yet, we don’t want to be a part of the family.  We want the eternal benefits without the participation.  Unfortunately that’s not God’s intention.  God sent his son, Jesus Christ, to make it possible for us to be sons and daughters.  Jesus came to make it possible to transform humanity into the holy people that God had originally intended.  He created a pathway for us to become his brothers and sisters. 

Therefore the journey into the family begins by following after Christ and continues when we live in communion with the family.  As we live in communion with the family we begin to walk and talk and act more and more like the family.  There is a family resemblance as we are continually transformed. 

And this is the real family into which God invites his children. We may struggle with our earthly families.  There are those who have never had a loving father or a nurturing family and so it’s hard to imagine what this family is like — but this is the real family.  The earthly families with their rough edges and sometimes failures are not what God intended. 

The real family is one in which the Father dearly loves his children and provides a pathway that leads to transformation here and now in the kingdom and yet to come.  Let’s not allow the failures of this world to keep us from all that God wishes to provide for us.  The real family is here and inviting us in, even now.

Prayer:

Lord, thank you for the blessing of your family.  Amen.




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