THE IDEAL FAMILY

 What’s a family supposed to be like?

Our culture is enamored with this question. 

 

Over the years, shows like The Brady Bunch, Full House, Family Ties, Family Matters, The Simpsons, Gilmore Girls, and Keeping Up With The Kardashians have taken part in shaping our view of family. Even if you love your family, you have an idea of how wonderful family could be. 

 

Author James McBride once said, “Family love is like the wind: instinctive, raw, fragile, beautiful, at times angry, but always  unstoppable. It is our collective breath. It is the world’s greatest force.” 

 

 

But family is not a new idea. God created family for the benefit of human flourishing. His plan was to give us a defined space where we can each find a deep sense of love and belonging. Yet that’s not the kind of family many people experience. For many, the very subject of family can be a mix of painful emotions. 

 

 

The problem with family is sin. Sin deeply fractured the very institution of family. From the first pages of the Bible, we see sin’s effect on families. God’s defined space for love and belonging was broken. So He did something about it. He sent Jesus. 

 

Jesus introduced a new kind of family. His family, too, is a defined space where we can gain a deep sense of love and belonging. But the family of Jesus is different than any other! God’s redeeming love in Jesus has set His sons and daughters free from their past, creating an environment where anyone can belong! 

 

 

1 John 3:1 says, “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called children of God!” The family of God is the ideal family—a place where you are loved, a place where you belong, and a place where you can grow and flourish. 

 

 

Are you planted in the family of God? 

 

 

 

Scriptures to read: John 13:34-35; Psalm 92:12-15

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER:

 

•        How are my thoughts and attitude toward family affecting how I view the family of God? 

 

•        How could I be more rooted in the family of God?  

 

PRAYER TO PRAY

 

Father, thank You for sending Jesus to not only redeem me, but also to redeem family. Thank You for creating a safe place where I am loved, where I belong, and where I can grow.

.Help me to surrender my idea of what family is and embrace what You created the family of God to be. In Jesus’ name, amen.