Our Family

In the beginning there was a family.  It was a family of only two, but it was not long before that changed with the birth of two sons.  As the story about God and his people unfolds through the pages of Scripture, one family after another walks across its pages.  As in the case of Genesis, many of them come across as dysfunctional, but still they are families.  All of these families did what families do: people get married, do births and deaths and all the ordinary stuff in between which makes families family.  It could be said with some measure of truth that whatever God does, He does it through a family.   

Certainly, we are reminded of His use of the family in these days before the celebration of the Christ-event.  In Galatians 4:4 the Word of God says, "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent His son, born of a woman..."  The trek to Bethlehem which culminates with the birth of Jesus clearly places it in the context of family life.  Like it or not, we are all a part of a family.  Some of us may want no part of our biological families, but the majority of folks find themselves being affected by the drawing power of the season.  We want to gather with those we love, who have stood with us through the good and the bad, and to celebrate the memories which bring laughter and as a sense of belonging.   

It is interesting that the writers of Holy Scripture used the image of the family to point us toward our relationship with God, our Creator.  In Romans 8:12-17, we hear words that tell us that we are "children of God" and not only children, but "....heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ..." Perhaps, the strongest and most forthright statement about who we in relationship to God came on that day when Jesus told His disciples to begin their prayer with the words, "Our Father..." (Matthew 7:9).  We all have family.  We are family.  We are a part of the family of God.  We belong to Him.