God-Given “Family”
In times such as these, the need for Christ in this world is great. In between the lines of the New Testament, we glimpse the heart of a Man who gave His life so we would know love—a God who unselfishly came down from His throne in heaven to teach us how to embrace hope, to care for others, and to do good. Jesus showed us that we have a choice; we need not exist in fear and obscurity. We can peel away the bitter layers of this dark world and see the core—His purpose for us.
In times such as these, we need a beacon to light the way. In John 13, Jesus revealed the core virtue of the Christian life, saying, “You must love each other as I have loved you” (verse 34, NLV). In giving us this commandment, He paved the way so that our footsteps would make a difference and our voices would be heard.
To love as Jesus loved is a way of life that takes courage. It takes guts to believe in Truth when lies abound, to be bold when facing intolerance, to rise against injustice. Today, we stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before us across the centuries. In fact, those saints are part of the amazing support system that Jesus provided for His followers—as evidenced in the New Testament.
Jesus did not leave us “as orphans in the storm” (John 14:18). The book of Hebrews tells us, “Jesus and the people he makes holy all belong to the same family. That is why he isn’t ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters” (Hebrews 2:11, CEV). The Apostle Paul echoes that familial bond: “…you are members of God’s very own family… and you belong in God’s household with every other Christian” (Ephesians 2:19).
Paul takes the concept of family even further, using a metaphor to express how the Church is a community of faith: “So it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other” (Romans 12:5, NLT). Paul believed that all disciples of Jesus are interconnected—each a part of the other; “…so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another” (Romans 12:5,ESV).
So in times such as these, even though we still live in this world, we are not orphaned from God. We have “the Spirit of truth” (John 14:17) to teach and encourage us. We have His “God-breathed” Word (2 Timothy 3:16) through which the Spirit illuminates our hearts and minds. And we have each other, a family of believers.
Brothers and sisters in Christ: Hope is all around us, for Jesus is with us “…each and every day until the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). And through Him we can be a beacon to others, serving through the Body of Christ.
by RJ Flower-Opdycke, Co-editor
In his Epistles, the Apostle Paul refers to the Body of Christ as all individuals who:
“heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation… believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit” (Ephesians 1:13, ESV)
“are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit” (Ephesians 2:22, ESV)
“joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love” (Ephesians 4:16, ESV)
