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THE GREAT BIG FAMILY
By Sean Dietrich

In traditional congregations, people often sing songs about being part of God’s family. Songs like, “I’m so glad I’m a part of the Family of God…” Or songs like, “Bind us together Lord bind us together with love…”

On Sunday mornings, friendly church attendees pat their friends on the back, and call each other “brother” and “sister.” They generously use words like “blessed” and “love.”

At first glance it would seem that many of these churchgoers are a tight knit group of believers who love each other very much. However, if you dig deeper, you can see that many of them are not really an active part of a Christian family at all. In fact, many of them have no intent on sharing their private lives with anyone.

PRETTY WORDS THAT’S ALL

It’s one thing to “call” someone brother. It’s another thing to actually “be” a brother to someone. Humans are always replacing things God wants, with pretty words. We offer up prayers and sweet talk, instead of the real thing. We think saying the right words is the same thing as actually “doing” it.

For instance: When I used to repent, I would pray and tell God, “I repent.” However, my pretty words never seemed to help me turn from my sins. It wasn’t until I let him change my lifestyle that things really changed. No words required!

In the same way, many believers are content with using words like “brother” and “sister” instead of actually living like a real family. It’s a tragedy that many believers today are missing out on the incredibly real experience of God’s family! It’s life changing!

OH BROTHER!

Every follower of Jesus has the amazing opportunity of becoming a part of God’s REAL family. However, this is not something that happens magically. It is something that we have to choose to take part in. Being a family means getting involved in people’s lives.

In 33 A.D. Early Christians actually lived together in a “Jesus community” where they spent their lives together. After a while, simply calling each other by name wasn’t good enough. So eventually they called each other “brother” and “sister” instead. These people really loved each other like family. They spent lots of time together. They shared everything they had. They even got on each other’s nerves from time to time. They were a real family!

A STORY

There was an old man who was extremely introverted and withdrawn. He spent his days alone and hardly ever got out of his house. His children wanted nothing to do with him and he had no friends. The old man was lonely.

One day, the old man’s younger neighbor came asking to borrow his lawn mower. The young neighbor was very kind, and the two seemed to hit it off. The neighbor invited the old man over to his house for dinner that night. The two men quickly became very good friends.

After a few months, the old man was ill and in the hospital. His neighbor stayed by his bedside almost every night. On the night before the old man finally died, he looked at his younger neighbor and said to him, “You and your wife have been more of a genuine family to me than my own children have ever been.” With tears in his eyes and a smile on his face the old man passed away. The old man didn’t die lonely.

Jesus is waiting for us to open our arms and embrace strangers. Millions of people are looking for a honest-to-goodness brother or sister! Lonely and hurting people are just waiting for the chance to make a true friend. Let’s reach out!

Let’s get involved. Let’s become the family that Jesus wants us to be. The family of brotherly love.