New Family in Christ

At the birth of our children, they immediately connected into our existing family. We drew each individually into the mutual love and joy that Fran and I had together with each other. “In Christ,” God initiated to connect us together with Him in His Forever Family. He chose to create us, to adopt us into His Family, and to reveal Himself to us. He didn’t have to. This is His immense pleasure (Ephesians 1:5). He longed to because He enjoys hanging out with us. Darrel Johnson writes:

“The living God is a relationship, a community, a Trinity. And this God draws near to us to draw us near to himself within the circle of his knowing and loving of himself.”

When you were born again spiritually by faith in Christ (your 2^nd birth), you were born into God’s “Forever Family.” You now have God as your Father and every Christian as your brother and sister. Especially because of attacks on families in our society today, God’s local expression of His Family, a local church community, is crucial. Like physical parents care for newborns, the care must be up-close-and-personal, less an impersonal orphanage like situation. I still remember the love and care, and the healthy models of the Christian life I experienced in the small, country church I became a part of when I came to Christ at twenty-five. From start to finish, Christianity is about relationship. Sometime read John 14 as a portrait of the ideal Father/Son relationship, the same Father/son relationship into which God draws us. 

I don’t know anything about your earthly father. I can tell you some things about your heavenly Father. Early on, I learned that my heavenly Father was my true father-figure, not primarily my earthly father. Our Father in heaven is on our side...always. If we take all the good traits of the best human fathers, our heavenly Father is far better even than this composite. He is perfect. He is good, always. There is never a time when He does not actively seek our best (though I may doubt it at times!) He loves us just as we are, and also too much to leave us there and neglect our maturity. In time, we will discover: nothing is more enjoyable in life than experiencing the pleasure of growing intimacy in this mutual relationship. This heart-posture brings good things as byproducts.

The early church valued their local spiritual family so much that they “devoted themselves” to fellowship with one another while generously caring for each other (Acts 2:42-47). What about you? Are you an active part of a church family? Don’t rest until you are. Take a burning log out of a roaring fire, lay it alone on the hearth and it will soon go out.

This is Reflection #12 in my book, Foundation Stones. I also have a web-site with tools, books and "more than Bible studies" that have helped me to live out of this spiritual DNA, www.JimFredericks.com