The Church is a Family
- It's good to be here as a church family all together today. Jesus used metaphors when speaking to the people.
- Previously we talked about the Church being a flock, body, a field, a building, a temple and today about the Church being a family. It's not clearly referred to as a family in the Bible, but we see it in many ways as such.
- We are not just like a family, we ARE a family. We are called brothers and sisters, members of God's household, children of God and to have brotherly love one for another. They lived in a culture where family was very important, and Jesus referred to His disciples as his family. Surely if Jesus were here today He would say, here are my family. That's how precious we all are.
- All things that exist belong to God the Father, so the reason why we can be a family is that we have a Father in Heaven. When Jesus taught His disciples to pray He emphatical started with "OUR Father", He is our Father together. All families have their source in heaven. But some of us don't have good earthly family experiences. Due to sin entering this world, fathers and mothers may be affected and tarnished by sin. But God wants to heal those bad experiences, to bring us into His family. Ina good family one feels safe. It's a place where needs are met, and a place of healing. We as earthly family members, even when we try to do good we fail, but our heavenly Father is always perfect and good. God wants to give good gifts to His family, the Church. He wants us to feel safe, to feel loved, to pray and help and serve one another. We don't always get there but we go towards this goal.
- When we join a church, it's not just Bible reading or singing, we become part of a family, belonging to each other. Being a family does not mean that we all look the same or do the same things, but we all have a common Father in heaven. Commitment one to another is important in the creation of a family. One of the fundamentals of a family is that we love one another.
- In Luke 15 we read about the prodigal son. The father reluctantly let the younger son leave, but from that moment on the father was waiting for the son to come back. When the son finally returned destitute, his father ran out to meet him and received him. The older brother was upset at the father, for restoring the younger brother. But the father spoke very lovingly to the older brother also. The father wanted to bring healing and restoration in the family.
- We as a Church have a perfect heavenly Father, but even in this family things do happen, not God's fault but our own. God always wants to welcome back the younger brother and always wants the older brother to join the party and not be angry. God wants each one of us to know that we are loved. We should always be in a situation of giving and receiving. This constitutes a healthy family.
- God also wants to bring us healing. God never abandons us no matter what, even if we have had a difficult past.
Topics:
Belonging to God's family