Many people believe their biological family is forever, that it is the one constant while all else changes. In point of fact this is idolatry, for only Christ is unchanging, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow." (Hebrews 13:8). From film to fire place mantle art pieces, the slogan that "Nothing is more important than family" is etched everywhere. Our entire lives we are sold the idea from that family is omnimportant. Around the holidays especially are people saturated with the image that families stay together and work things out with relatively any residue fallout. Hallmark and many other companies try to convince people that family is the one true constant, but like Santa Claus, they are selling a lie and replacing (antichrist) the only true constant who is Christ Jesus.
While there may be many who have close knit families and chocolate filled rosey times, there is large precent of people with dysfunctional families. One of the most famous dysfunctional families may surprise you. It was Jesus' family. First let me establish that I am talking about Jesus' Mother Mary and her other children from Joseph (Matthew 1:25). Jesus is God in flesh (John 1:1-15) and He was conceived by The Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35). Mary was a virgin, and had never known (never had sexual relations) with a man (Luke 1:34) and Jesus was born miraculously. Now that I have established that, let me shed some light on the Savior's relatives (half brothers and sisters). While Jesus was doing his public ministry the Scriptures say, "Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat." (Mark 3:20). In response to the success of our Lord's ministry, his family did the following, "And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.” (Mark 3:21). Jesus' own family accused him of being nuts and even sought to sieze Him and take Him home! If that was not enough, the corrupt scribes and religious elite added fuel to the fire by accusing Jesus of using Bezeelbub to caste out demons (Mark 3:22) which Jesus refutes with his famous words, "How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.." (Mark 3:23-2).
This is astonishing! Jesus' own family did not believe in Him and they even sought to hinder, inhibit, and stop his work! Imagine if they had succeeded! Then we would be without salvation, hope, and the Light of Life (John 8:12). The passage about Jesus' family calling him crazy and trying to take charge of him helps highlight and explain a later passage. The Scripture says, "Then Jesus' mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, "Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you."Who are my mother and my brothers?" he asked. Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, "Here are my mother and my brothers!" (Mark 3:31-34). Here we see that this incident took place within the same chapter as Christ's family trying to seize and take charge of Him. His response to his family coming to Him again is twofold: firstly he knows their goal and so seeks to hinder them from taking Him, and secondly Jesus is denouncing them and proclaiming a new brotherhood and family which he clarifies as, "My mother and brothers are those who hear God's word and put it into practice," (Luke 8:21). and "Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother!" (Matthew 12:50).
Jesus is setting a precedent that would make picture of the perfect family in our culture cringe. Jesus declares that your real family is those who "fear God's word and do it," and "those who do the will of the Father in heaven." If your blood relatives, your kin do not do either of those are they really your family? Yes you are related by genetics and God's design, but beyond that you are strangers and even enemies if they refuse to hear God's word, obey it, and do the will of the Father. I believe when Jesus said, "love your enemy and pray for those who persecute you," (Matthew 5:44) that He was not merely talking about ISIS or Nazis, but rather your own family. For Christ said, "a man's enemies will be the members of his own household," (Matthew 10:36), "Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death," (Matthew 10:21), "for from now on five members in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law." (Luke 12:53). Most surprising of all this separation between family members comes from Christ himself, who says, "Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I came to SET A MAN AGAINST HIS FATHER, AND A DAUGHTER AGAINST HER MOTHER, AND A DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AGAINST HER MOTHER-IN-LAW;and A MAN'S ENEMIES WILL BE THE MEMBERS OF HIS HOUSEHOLD." (Matthew 10:31-35). If that was not enough to cause the entire idea of family forever to shatter, then take a look at Jesus' words, ""If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters--yes, even their own life--such a person cannot be my disciple." (Luke 14:26).
The last verse can really trouble our souls. Do I have to hate my father and mother, wife, and children to be follower of Christ? How do you apply this?! The answer from most theolgians is that you hate your family in comparison to your love to Christ. But I reason that following Christ in family not intent on following Him in same amount of devotion will lead to the division. If you intend to be Jesus' Disciple without compromise and your family is on board and willing to do the same, you shall experience the inevitable division and your family will become an enemy to your faith and relationship with Christ. Many are not ready for the risk, so many cultures revere family like an idol and make it the measure for success, health, and happiness. But that is idolatry. Jesus Christ must be our success, health, and happiness.
The god of family is strong in both Eastern and Western cultures. In America family is part of the American Dream, in the Middle East Jews rely on family for future success such as jobs, Muslims believe in their religion that the Ummah is a family and they rely on one another for survival, Indians from India have cult of family, they see family as the ultimate importance, Mexicans and Latin Americans hold a similar devotion to family as Indians, and Asians see family as posterity. So why is family so important to such diverse people groups? The answer is God (Father, Jesus, and Holy Spirit) intended for many to have family. The Lord God said, ""It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him," (Genesis 2:18) and "God places the lonely in families; he sets the prisoners free and gives them joy. But he makes the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land." (Psalm 68:6). The Church itself is suppose to be a family, a family of fidel (faith). Unfortunately, the church since Emperor Constantine commandeered it, has fallen from this original call.
Is there hope? Are we to have no family on this earth? The answer is, there is great hope. The Lord Jesus makes it clear our earthly family may become our enemies and those we have trusted may turn on us; but Christ also promises us that we have a family in Him. Jesus said, "And do not call anyone on earth 'father,' for you have one Father, and he is in heaven." (Matthew 23:9). If we lose our fathers, take heart we have a Father in Heaven! One who created you and knows you better than any man of this earth. Should we lose a spouse for the Lord's sake, take heart, for the Apostle affirms, "I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him." (2 Corinthians 11:2). We should rejoice at being wed to The Word, to God himself!; "Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready." (Revelation 19:7). As for siblings, all who hold to the Savior and love Him are brothers and sisters (Matt 12:50, Luke 8:12). While divisions are promised to us regarding our blood relations, the Apostle Paul commands us to not be divided from our Blood(of Christ) Relatives: "I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought." (1 Corinthians 1:10). We lose one family, but gain another in Christ and those who love Him. We are commanded to love one another, "My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you." (John 15:12).
In end family in Christ, the church, those who love Christ completely and without compromise are indeed forever because those who believed in Jesus never die: "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die." (John 11:25-26). The family you are born into may not be forever, they may become your enemies, but the family of fidel (faith) in Christ Jesus is forever. Even if brothers and sisters in the Lord forsake you and fall away, remember that The Lord God: Father, Son/Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit will always be your family, and will never forsake you (Hebrews 13:5), or become you enemy. For to the Lord God you are both spouse (Rev 19:7) and child: "So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith.." (Galatians 3:26). Christ loves you so much he refers to you in the most intimate terms, and wants to be close to you as husband and wife, and loving parent and child. So while you mourn the loss of earthen family, remember you have family in The Lord God (Father, Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit) and that family is forever.
Comments
Post a Comment