Family

The tradition of Christmas and family go hand in hand and they can't be separated. This time of year, we are constantly reminded that Christmas is a time to spend with family. Songs, television shows, and even commercials are filled with scenes of people going home for the holidays. My heart always goes out to those who may not have a place to go for Christmas. I also remember our soldiers fighting overseas who cannot come home yet. It is a vivid reminder of how fortunate those of us who will visit our families this Christmas, really are.

Family is how we started this life. It's our beginning. Our sense of self is born out of our family. As we grow older, we can alter our self image if needed. But to make those changes, we generally have to go back to where it all began. Some of us are truly blessed to have been given a foundation of love. When our foundation is solid, no matter what happens later in life, we can face it a little easier. If we can remember how it felt to be loved by the first people we saw in this world, we can consider that to be God's first gift to us.

The word "family" appears in the Bible almost 500 times. These scriptures provide direction for families as well as the Christian definition of family. In Matthew, we learn that even Jesus had difficulty with some criticizing members of His family. He gave the word "family" a new meaning by saying that anyone who does the will of His Father in Heaven is His family. We are also told that as Christians, we are adopted into God's own family. We are His children and we are instructed to care for each other as a family bound for Heaven. There are those who have lost or never had an earthly family to speak of. But no one within the family of God is without a Father. Our Father lives within us and surrounds us everywhere we go. As the children of God, our earthly family expands to include all of our brothers and sisters in Christ.

For those who are richly blessed to have been born into a loving family, Christmas is a time to give heartfelt thanks. It is also a time to realize that our family consists of all adopted children of God. The most fortunate among us are those who share their lives with both. The family that we are born into and our adopted family are both God given gifts. He hand picked those who raised us and those who have crossed our paths. This Christmas, I pray that we will remember the true meaning of family, as given to us by our Lord, Jesus Christ.

Matthew 13:57
And they were deeply offended and refused to believe in him.Then Jesus told them, "A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own home town and among his own family."

Matthew 12:46-50
46 As Jesus was speaking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him. 47 Someone told Jesus, "Your mother and your brothers are outside, and they want to speak to you."

48 Jesus asked, "Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?" 49 Then he pointed to his disciples and said, "Look, these are my mother and brothers. 50 Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother!"

Ephesians 1:5
God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ.

(New Living Translation)