In my last article, I talked about the goodness of family, and that we as Christians should promote and support families. But many people do not have great families, and because of that they lack the natural support that is supposed to come from a Dad, Mom, siblings, and extended family. In our current culture we do see more brokenness in families than in previous generations, it is not a new problem in the world. Scripture tells us on a number of occasions to look after widows and orphans (see James 1:27; Psalm 146:9), so we know that throughout time people have been without good families.
The biblical solution is not just to set up a program to minister to the needs of people “out there” who need help, but rather to become a new family. When questioned about His family Jesus did this: “And stretching out his hand toward 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 12:49-50). In other words, Jesus was intentionally setting up the church to be a new kind of family. We see the early church live this out when they started to meet in the homes of members and treat one another like a big extended family (Acts 2:42-47).
This new eternal family will last longer than our earthly families. For those who follow Jesus, God is our Father because we are adopted into His family (Galatians 4:5, Romans 8:15) and Jesus is our older brother (Hebrews 2:11, Romans 8:29). In light of this in the early church they called one another brothers and sisters. In that culture, family was the source of your identity, so for the early church to welcome outsiders as family was a very big deal. The gospel is open to anyone who follows Jesus, so this new family included people of all kinds of ethnic and economic backgrounds.
Now if Christians really live like family, we are going to get uncomfortable. People who are different than us can be part of this family. They might have different customs, and they might even have shady backgrounds. They might not know how to behave properly in church society, especially if they have had the blessing of a good earthly family. And frankly, we might be that person for someone else. They might look at us and think, I do not want that person in my family! But just like with human families, the kids don’t get to choose. It is the Father who draws people into the family and adopts them. If we do not accept those who He accepts, then we are dishonoring our heavenly Father, and we will miss out on the blessings of God’s family where love, grace, and mercy reign. Just like we receive those from Him, we have the opportunity to show that kind of family love to people who might not have experienced it before.
In practice this means being willing to have people in your home for meals or even providing shelter when necessary. It means taking time to listen and be a friend. It means going into places, homes, and communities where they live to show that you care about them on their own turf. Obedience to God is challenging because He wants us to become like Him and welcome those He welcomes. But take heart, He is a good Father and He wants good for you too. Helping to welcome the single person, the widow, the orphan, and the disconnected, into the family will be a blessing to you and the rest of the family.
