A good family is never perfect. Sometimes there will be failings and disappointments. Disagreements will arise over matters that with the passing of time will seem insignificant. But it is also true that some of life’s happiest memories occur within the family.
One of the clearest descriptions of the church in the New Testament is of a family. The church is the family of God. The following statement highlights this description, “For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named” (Ephesians 4:14 & 15). In keeping with the description of the church being a family, individual Christians are referred to as “children of God” (I John 3:1, 10). Another meaningful passage along this line is found in Romans 8:16 & 17, “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs – heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.”
The description of the church as a family emphasizes the close relationship that is to exist among individual members of the church. For us to be as the Lord would have us to be in Him, love must always reign supreme. Indeed, love is the glue that enables us to stand together in Christ. As Christians are urged, “Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart” (I Peter 1:22). Another strong exhortation speaks to this same point, “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought also ought to love one another” (I John 4:11).
There are different personalities and temperaments even among Christians. But our relationship with Christ, grounded in the Truth of God’s Word, rises above these things. We are striving together for heaven. Remembering we are brothers and sisters in Christ, may God help us as we, “Let brotherly love continue” (Hebrews 13:1).
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