Scripture I have said before that you have such a place in our hearts that we would live or die with you. 2 Corinthians 7:3
Observation One of the reasons us Christians are squeezed together into church is to explore all that it means for us to be Christ’s family. If we make the most of community life we can discover that church family will mean more to us than our parents or immediate family.
That’s not to be unkind to our own kinfolk. It’s just saying what Jesus said. The family were within earshot when Jesus spoke.
Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.” He replied to him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” Matthew 12:47-50
Few experience family through the church. They touch the frame but they are not in the family picture. They shake the hands of strangers after the singing is finished. They hug a Bible for comfort on their lap during a small group. They nibble spaghetti of a sagging paper plate at the church pot luck. They they are in the wading pool of relationships. Few have plunged into the deep end of family.
Just as we modern Christians have processed the lavish communion meal into thimble goblets and bird feed bread, so we’ve dehydrated the family of God. We need a new generation who will walk heart-first into every predictable activity and fill it with meaning. It is a choice to open an inner sitting room of our heart where only blood relatives have entered and let God’s people in there. It is a holy courage not to let any event be perfunctory but family.
Application I’m thankful that for 25 years of living thousands of miles from my family that I came to love brothers and sisters in Christ’s family as my own. They became our grandparents, parents, brothers, sisters, cousins, aunts and uncles. That experience has ruined me for life. I can’t attend church for long without turning it into my own family reunion. I want to be part of a body where everyone does that too.
Prayer   Father, teach us to be family again. Amen.
