Family.
Let’s be honest, Team… We love our families with an “unconditional” kind of love, but family can be difficult to deal with at times. And, despite how difficult it can be to show love, we try to find a way to move beyond our issues.
Our connection with our blood-related family is how God looks at His children: A family of believers who make up His Body… The Body of Christ.
So for fun, let’s say you are the “hand” on the body. You cannot move without the arm. If you have no arm, you have no hand and vice versa. They are dependent on each other to move, but they also have their own functionality that is associated with the body.
Without each other working together yet performing their individual functions, the body does not operate in its full capability.
The Body is Diverse but Unified
This illustration is what Paul spoke of in the 4th Chapter of Ephesians – dealing with unity and maturity in the Body of Christ. We must be in unity with both “families” in the same way – our immediate families and our Christian family.
People will easily argue that some family members refuse to work together. We all have relatives that continue to hold “grudges”, making it difficult to love them.
Well, here goes a perfect example as a Christian on how difficult it is to love like Jesus, and what He has to say about it. Let’s apply Christ’s words to our immediate and Christian families:
“Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.” (1John 4:20-21).
Let me tell you something about the love of God that I know to be true – it’s difficult to resist love that is shown unconditionally because love never fails. (1 Corinthians 13:8) Yet, it’s so hard to practice because it’s difficult to continue to try to love someone who doesn’t love us back or treat us right.
The repercussion of not having unity in our families affects how we love and care for others in the world. How are we going to reach lost souls who feel disconnected if we are disjointed as well?
If there is no unity in the Body of Christ, why will someone believe that God’s power can truly change a person for the better? The world needs to see an example of God in the earth and what better way than to make it a priority to connect with one another like the physical joints of a body.
We perform our individual functions in order to be totally effective for reconnecting the body with disjointed parts!
Every Joint Supplies What the Body Needs as a Whole
So, in the words of National Gospel Recording Artist, Hezekiah Walker, “I need you to survive!” Consider the lyrics:
I need you, you need me,
We’re all a part of God’s body.
Stand with me, agree with me,
We’re all a part of God’s body.
It is his will that every need be supplied.
You are important to me, I need you to survive.
You are important to me, I need you to survive.
So, What’s the Play Call?
The 3 play calls to remind us of the importance of Family are:
- From Him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. (Ephesians 4:16)
- God didn’t create mankind to live as if we are alone on an island. Having healthy connections are a part of our spiritual and emotional growth on earth. When two or more touch and agree, there is a power in agreement that can’t be experienced alone (Matthew 18:19).
- There is great power in sharing and encouraging our families through assembling together and sharing testimonies and encouragement. Our love shown through words and deeds is a lifeline through the journey of life.
Family.
Let’s be honest… we can’t live without them.
