We all desire to have the perfect family, don't we? If you have been alive for more than 7 years, you probably already know there is no such thing as the perfect family. As a child, between birth and 7 years of age, we believe our family is perfect. Our daddy is the strongest and our mommy the most beautiful. Our house is the best and our lives seem so perfect. But somewhere between 6 and 9 years of age, we realize that our families are messed up! We begin to see our family for what they really are. We see the flaws in everyone! Soon, we even see the flaws in ourselves and realize that there is NO hope. This is one reason men have commitment issues. Because we want the perfect family, but we know there is no such thing.
I am beginning a new series today called "The Ultimate Guide to The Perfect Family - Breaking Stereotypes"
This series will be based on families in the Bible. It's important to say that no efforts have been made to airbrush the complexions of even of most notable households. God doesn’t attempt to hide the dirty laundry of Bible families. It's all right there, in plain view for everyone to see.
The Bible also presents the joys of family life, but we cannot ignore the dark side of noticeable biblical men and women! The Bible doesn’t present the human condition in the home any different than anywhere else.
We Are All Flawed
Our families have flaws because all humans have flaws. If you have something about your family that isn’t perfect, join the club. Our Churches are full of struggling families, stressed families and good families that are striving to be better, but no perfect families. That needs to be said. We need to go on record with that. People need to be able to come to church without thinking they need to wear masks in order to fit in.
If you’ve ever asked yourself if you’re the only one in church “feelin’ so small” the answer is “NO!” We all feel small sometimes. We feel small because we know we’re not perfect and our families aren’t perfect.
So God’s Word addresses this issue because God cares about you. He cares about how you feel. He cares about your family! He doesn’t want you to think that you’re a second-class citizen because you or your family has flaws.
God Cares
He cares about you if you’re single, divorced, widowed, married with kids or married with no children. He cares about the family flaws you have to face now, the family flaws you endured in the past, and the ones yet to come. God wants to help us handle the abnormal things about our family. So for the next several weeks, I will attempt to show you that no matter what your family situation is, God still loves you and can use you.
Now let's take a look at the first family. I am not talking about the family of the President of The USA but literally, the first family. Adam and Eve and their lovely children! The very first family, that household in the Garden of Eden composed of Adam and Eve and Cain and Abel. Their story includes a couple of major flaws, but this family survived, so I want to address the issue of "Surviving Family Flaws."
How do you survive when your wife walks out on you? How do you survive the rebellion of a child? What about family members with addictions or other self-destructive behaviors? How do you handle an adult child or a wife who is out of control with his or her spending, or they’re lazy or inconsistent? What do you do with a wife who won’t be a mother and shuns the responsibilities of mothering? How do you handle these and many other family flaws? And what about your own flaws?
The Pain
Some of you have felt the pain that comes from the family flaw of abuse, verbal abuse, physical abuse, or even sexual abuse! That's is horrible and my heart goes out to you. Some of us have also felt the pain that comes from loss. Such as the premature death of someone you loved dearly, or broken relationships due to irreconcilable differences. How can you survive? God has comforting and encouraging answers in His Word, the Bible!
Concerning the family of Adam and Eve, let’s get the bad news out of the way first. The bad news about the first family is that we’ve all inherited their genes. We’re all flawed. The Bible says we’ve all sinned because we all inherited their sinful nature. But there’s also good news, news good enough to prevail over the bad news!
Greater Than Your Flaws
It’s good news that trumps every personal and family failure. And this is it: Yes, we’re all flawed, but we’re not flawed beyond hope! With God’s help we can overcome the impact of our flawedness. GOD’S GRACE IS GREATER THAN OUR FAMILY FLAWS!
"Where sin increased and abounded, grace (God’s unmerited favor) has surpassed it and increased and superabounded…"
Romans 5:20b
That gives us hope for our lives and families!
I want you to keep this in mind as we go through this series. We’ll be looking at some very dysfunctional families in the Bible. But no family flaw is too great for God’s grace to bring help and healing.
Grace
If we will plug into God’s grace and ask for His wisdom and follow His instructions we can have peace and joy in our lives no matter how tough things have been or are right now in our family! Just remember that no matter what you have done or what others have done to you, God wants to restore your life. And no matter how hard things seem right now, God can and will bring you out of that for His glory. Are your ready?
This is the first in the series. Next week we will take a closer look at Adam And Eve and what it means to be or to have a perfect family according to God.
Until next week....
Let's Pray...
