Family ties can be full of surprises. When God put us in families, it was to simulate as closely as possible the family unit of the Godhead. As the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are One, our family units of father, mother and offspring is where God intended us to learn about relationships and life. Why that doesn’t work as well as hoped, has to do with sin. Yes, that much misunderstood word that describes our natural inclination to put ourselves first which also separates us from God. That said, we must distinguish following our calling to be all God always intended us to become from unhealthy selfishness.
When we operate out of our own human power, the tendency and ability of most of us is to put on a front of kindness to people outside the family. That eats up most of our energy as we fake our way through life. When we do that, our nuclear family usually receives the leftovers of our insecurities. That can become a problem. I was raised to treat everyone as I wanted to be treated, and my family better than everyone else, because I live with them. Our family was always in process like everyone else.
So, how do we find the resources to be kind outside the family and inside the family?
Did you know we have family ties with the King of Kings? Not just as children of God. Hebrews 2 tells us that we are not only children of God the Father, but we are actually brothers and sisters with Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith. We are created in the image of God after all. Plus, when we accept Jesus’s payment for our broken relationships, the Holy Spirit spiritually lives inside us. “So now Jesus and the ones he makes holy have the same Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them [us] his brothers and sisters.” Hebrews 2:11
Hebrews continues: “So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” V14-16
Having close family ties like this with the Three in One, means there is power at our disposal that we often forget about, or are blinded to.
From Thanksgiving, to Hannukah, to Christmas, to New Years, most of us usually try harder to navigate our family members’ expectations. The origins of our desire to help and care for others especially in this season, comes from the foundation of what was our Judeo-Christian culture. With those underpinnings eroding, we can easily forget the power source for our kindness.
To tap back in to that power source, all we need to do is agree with the One, that we have not cooperated with the original plan. We choose to change direction, asking for forgiveness, and to “receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.”
Remember: “We love each other because he loved us first.” 1 John 4:19 Join me this season as I give up relying on my own power to love others, inside or outside my family.
Abba, help us all to remember our family ties, natural and supernatural. Thank you for your perfect power of love. Thank you for your open invitation to come to you when we don’t have it. Pour it into our hearts and our beings, in this season and. . . all year! Because You can do that. Amen
