"Family"

    The family nature and disposition of humanity originates in our Creator.

    "I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family of heaven and earth is named" (Ephesians 3:14-15).

   We love family because God loves family.  Indeed, it does not wrest or contort Scriptural truth to suggest that God Himself is a family.  The Bible proclaims three distinct persons existing in and as one Divinity.  As the prophet of old proclaimed, addressing both the oneness and tri-unity of the Godhead, "The Lord our God is one Lord" (Deuteronomy 6:4; emphasis added).  Our earthly families reflect this nature of a pluralism, as it were, that nevertheless exists as a unity.  Thus, our innate love and yearning for family reflects the very being and essence of God.  "The invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and godhead" (Romans 1:20).

    The same truth shines brightly in the body of Christ.  "As the body is one and hath many members, and the member of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ.  For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free, and have been all made to drink into one Spirit" (I Corinthians 12:12-13).  When we believe in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, God the Father graciously births us into "the whole family of Heaven and earth" through the entrance of the Holy Spirit into our hearts.  "God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying Abba Father" (Galatians 4:6).  Our Lord unites us with Himself, along with a heavenly and earthly host of brothers and sisters, all who share the spiritual heritage and genealogy of Christ.  We are one in Him, yet again confirming the very nature of God as "many members" who comprise "one body."

   A final thought.  Satan, a being who exists in and for himself, hates family.  By nature, he despises the very notion of it.  Thus, he attacks both heavenly and earthly families.  He cannot directly confront the triune Godhead, of course, so he directs his malevolent intentions toward the those whom he can touch (as allowed by God).  The devil and his minions savagely assault the body of Christ and the families of earth.  One need not look beyond his own church or family to see our wrestling against spiritual enemies that seek our harm and dissolution.  They tempt us toward their own self-centeredness, particularly regarding those closest to us.  Indeed, why do we sometimes experience such difficulty with those with whom we most desire to enjoy loving and joyful oneness?  Again, Satan hates families, beginning with the Trinity of God Himself, and then, the devil extends his malevolence to the families created and birthed by God.  We should thus expect challenges within the context and environment of our loved ones, and even more, prepare ourselves to respond to those challenges through the Spirit and love of Christ, as directed by the Word of God.  

"Walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, forbearing one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.  There is one body, and on Spirit, even as year called in hone hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, through all, and in you all."

(Ephesians 1-6)

Weekly Memory Verse

   "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness."

(II Timothy 3:16)