Sunday: We Are Part of God’s Family
“For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named” (Ephesians 3:14-15, NKJV). What imagery is evoked in this verse, and what hope is found there?
Early in Jesus’ ministry, He states, “In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name” (Matthew 6:9, NKJV). Later He repeats the same prayer privately to His disciples (Luke 11:2). Jesus told us to call His Father, “Our Father in heaven.” When Jesus encountered Mary after His resurrection, she wanted to embrace Him. Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God’ ” (John 20:17, NKJV).
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Because we have the same Father as Jesus, He is our brother, and we are all brothers and sisters in the Lord. Jesus became a member of the earthly family so that we could become members of the heavenly family. “The family of heaven and the family of earth are one.” — Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 835.
Read Exodus 3:10; Exodus 5:1; and Galatians 3:26, Galatians 3:29. What do these verses say about how God relates to us? Why should this be so encouraging?
In contrast to a view of creation in which we are deemed the mere products of cold, uncaring natural laws, Scripture teaches not only that God exists, but that He loves us and relates to us in such a loving manner that the imagery of family is often used in Scripture to depict that relationship. Whether Jesus calls Israel “My people,” or us “sons of God,” or refers to God as “our Father,” the point is still the same: God loves us the way family members are supposed to love each other. What good news amid a world that, in and of itself, can be very hostile!
| Imagine a world in which we treated everyone as family. How can we learn to relate better to all human beings as our brothers and sisters? |
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“How can we learn to relate better to all human beings as our brothers and sisters?”
My immediate family is the “sandbox” in which God’s love can be practiced, and from experience, the place where it can be hardest to practice well. It is so easy to expect that those closest to me will bend to my will and accommodate me. But that is not the way of Jesus (see Philippians 2).
True godly love considers the will of others and accommodates those with whom I am closest in the context of my relationship with God. This is a matter of consideration of family members above my convenience and opinions that I might “strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble” and make a way for healing. (Hebrews 12:12-13.) A functional family is one in which no one gets everything they want, but in which everyone gives everything they can for the good of all. It is the sandbox in which Christ works to perfect my faith, just as the Father perfected his faith as my Elder Brother. (Hebrews 12:1-17.)
It is as I master these lessons in humility that God can use me in my church, my community and my work, to his honour and glory. It is a matter of putting my trust in the faithfulness of my Brother, Jesus, who will write his law of love in my heart and mind.
How True! Recently I heard a talk on Ted Talks that impressed me on how to live in our families. James says, "Be quick to listen and slow to speak" These Ted Talk ideas reminded me of this counsel. "Be curious not critical", "Don't assume, ask", "Be careful not crushing." "Connect before correct." Thanks for your thoughts.
Richard, your last paragraph is exceptionally beautiful, and truly touches my heart.
The Ellen White quote in today's lesson states "...Jesus became a member of the earthly family so that we could become members of the heavenly family...." It is interesting to note that elsewhere, Ellen White also highlights that we need a wider view of what it means to be part of God's family. Specifically, it is not just the 'saints' who God considers His family, but every human whether they be sinner or saint. This is not to say that every human will automatically be saved even if they reject the offer of salvation, but it does speak to God's attitude towards 'sinners' in so far that He doesn't 'write (any of) them off' - and therefore that as part of God's family, neither do we.
How might keeping this awareness in mind influence your attitude and perhaps behaviour towards every other person you come into contact with - be they 'saint' or 'sinner'?
Come into My heart Lord Jesus live out your life within me Jesus my older brother in heaven thank you for being a part of your family
We are a part of God's family. We have a very wealthy family! Eph. 3:8 says we have the "unsearchable riches of Christ bestowed upon us". Exploring Ephesians, we read more about our wealthy Father and what these riches are.
(1) Eph. 1:7: We have redemption through Jesus's blood. We have deep ease of heart and mind from contentment because we have no guilty conscience. A guilty spirit seems to be angry and defensive all the time, even before anything has happened. If you tip over a glass of water what comes out? Water. Just so, if someone tips us over they're not responsible for what comes out. Whatever comes out reveals our state of conscience. But we know we're clean because the blood of Christ cleans us.
Our God also gives us common graces so that even those with no or little faith may act kindly in the face of adversity…but sometimes these graces are taken away so that we can realize we're running on empty and can't climb up this hill with an empty tank.
(2) Eph. 2:14 Christ is our peace. We don't have to constantly be improving ourselves to gain self-worth. We don't have sin constantly stirring up our anxiety. Our welfare does not depend upon us. In John 13:36-38, Jesus told Peter that he would deny his Lord. But He added, "don't let your heart be troubled" Jn. 14:1.
What riches we are enjoying! Happy New Year everyone!
Esther,
Thanks for New Year encouragement. It is not all on us—God knows our every weakness and that our “promises" to be "good" are nothing but “ropes of sand.” In fact, if we act to "help out" God in regard to our salvation and sanctification, our efforts at "sinlessness" will be outside of his provision made through the faithfulness of his son, Jesus. This is sin. (Romans 14:23.)
God is the one who writes his law of love in our hearts. It is not our work—it is his. Our work is to accept his gift of life and to follow his son where he leads, remembering that he is with us always, even to the end of age. (Matthew 28:20.)
Richard
Well, it's 2023. Another revolution around the sun. And in a week's time about 2% of 2023 will have passed into history. We need to make it count!
A few years ago while we were studying this same lesson theme, I met someone for whom these lessons, stressing the family of God, were a complete anathema. He had come from a dysfunctional family with an abusive father, and where sibling rivalry reigned, Talking of God as a loving father was nonsense to him. Family ties were something that was restrictive and distasteful.
It made me realise just how much our pictures of God depend on our experiences here. I learned two important lessons from this person.
1. We need to be sensitive to the backgrounds of other people. What works for you may not work for them. God describes himself in a number of ways using metaphors that we can relate to. If we are sensitive to the experiences of others we can choose more meaningful metaphors/
2. Part of our responsibility as a church is to be a family, particularly for those whose only family experience has been hurtful. The church is more than a forum to thrash out doctrinal purity. It is, or should be, a supportive and caring community, that fills the family role for those who are disenfranchised from their families. It is by caring for one another that we paint our picture of God for others.
Amen!!
The metaphor of the family that the Bible presents has been a powerful one for me, growing up in the church. Believing that I could go to any corner of the world and, as long as I found an Adventist church I would be at home, was a great comfort to me. It wasn’t so much that I believed all people in the church were good and welcoming; it was belief in my birth right, and in the claims I have as a member of the family of God.
The metaphor that the Bible presents of the family may not be a happy one for people that come from a dysfunctional family, but it is the one God has chosen. It is a metaphor that is not simply descriptive of what the people of God are, it is aspirational of what we should be. The Bible is full of dysfunctional families; the first family had the first example of fratricide. The father of the faithful was a polygamist and the offspring from his wife and concubine continue to have contentions to this day. One of King David’s son raped his sister, and another one of his sons tried to kill him. One of Jesus’ ancestors was the result of sex between a man and his daughter-in-law when he believed she was a prostitute. Need I go on? Dysfunction exists, not only in our biological families, but even in our church family.
And yet God calls us to view him as our Father. He calls us to treat all who have accepted Christ as their Saviour as our brothers and sisters. He invites us to see those who are not part of this family as neighbours. When we see what this means in light of how God defines these relationships, it is revolutionary! It is more significant than the warm feelings that some of us get with childhood memories of family. It is a call to war against our own selfish propensity. It is a beacon of hope for all, but especially for those who have been hurt by the worst that sinful relationships have to offer.
I am thankful that even if the family I came from is dysfunctional, I through the power and presence of God’s Spirit in my life do not have to continue that “tradition.” The promise of the Father and his Son are in the Lord’s prayer to “deliver us from evil” and to forgive as we have been forgiven.
Happy New Year! Sabbath School Family.
The value of a soul.
We are often amazed at the thought that even if we were the only person needing salvation, Christ would have died for us.
Do we turn that around and as we look at someone who doesn't look all that lovable, and think, even if that one person were the only one needing salvation, Christ would have died for them.
It's easy to accept as "family" a friendly, positive person, it's the ones who are rather dysfunctional and abrasive in their social skills that are harder to treat as beloved family members.
In this very group here I can say that there are some family ties. It's even also probable that most don't take their time to express their ideas in writing, but they may participate by reading the lines. I hope we can all help each other, somehow, to get to the best family gathering, at Christ's return.
Happy new year to my brothers and sisters in Christ. I enjoy reading the comments. They are very uplifting and encouraging.
Happy New Year all. I too am happy to be a part of the family of God; I've been washed in the fountain and cleansed by His blood. Joint heirs with Jesus, as I manage for Him. I'm a part of the family, the family of God.
Amen!