Theme: The Family, the Future of the Church
Text: 1 Sam.2:18-20, 26; Col. 3:12-17; Lk.2:41-52
The celebrations ushering in the New Year tomorrow will, in effect, bring the Christmas celebrations to an end. We cannot, however, afford to forget the good news of Christ’s birth. His birth, sinless life, painful death and resurrection, was God’s chosen way to save men and women and bring them back into His holy family. It is only then that we can live an abundant life in this wicked and cruel world intent on destroying human society and human life. This abundant life is a quality of life that is able to deal with and prevent family conflicts, sexual immorality and child delinquency. This life is able to deal with and prevent greed, envy, deceit and lying and also deal with and prevent alcohol, tobacco and drug addiction, and pornography. The abundant life has no place for stress, depression and lack of sleep. This abundant life cannot be threatened by war or famine neither by crime or violence. The abundant life, however, is only available to those who are members of God’s family and this requires one to be born again and filled with the fullness of Christ.
God, as a Father, created a human family of sons and daughters in His own image and likeness, to rule over His Creation. His plan was to have a human family, Adam and Eve and their descendants, filled with the fullness of His Spirit, rule on earth as He did in heaven. When Adam and Eve sinned, God’s Spirit departed from them, and they became separated from God’s holy family and could no longer rule on earth. This naturally affected their descendants as well. The human family, spiritually dead and separated from God’s family, lost the authority and dominion that God had given them. They could no longer fulfil God’s divine will and plan for their lives. The only way to deal with the problem was to restore God’s Spirit within them and this is the reason why Jesus had to come to earth. He had to be born of a virgin if He was to remain sinless and qualify to pay the penalty for sin, to make His Holy Spirit available to us and to bring us back into the family of God. The Scriptures affirm this in the words “For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God” 1 Peter 3:18.
God created the human family to reflect and demonstrate the perfect relationship that existed in the Godly family. The family was to be a place of intimacy, unity, love, and understanding. It was to be the place where children would grow up to know their heavenly Father and thereby their own identity and value as children of God. It was to be the place where total trust and obedience would go hand in hand. And it was to be the place where one could be assured of absolute safety and security. This, unfortunately, is not the case in many families today because of the effects of sin. Instead of experiencing love, peace and joy and enjoying the protection of the family the most vulnerable people are experiencing physical and emotional abuse. Women and children are being assaulted, raped, sold into slavery and murdered even by members of their own family. These vices have become so common that it is now a pattern of behaviour that certain people follow. We all learn by following the example of others especially those who have made an impact on our lives. Those who make the most impact on children are their parents. The story is told of a young couple returning home from work one afternoon. They met their new minister in their neighbourhood and invited him in. They opened their front door only to hear their nine-year-old son and seven year old daughter yelling at each other at the top of their voices. Alarmed they all rushed in to find out what was going on. “What on earth is going on here?” the parents asked. Their son looked at them with a surprised expression on his face for a moment, then smiled and replied “Oh, there is nothing wrong. We were just playing daddy and mummy.” Children are very good learners and the people who influence them most are the parents. Is it any wonder that they grow up becoming like their parents? We all need the Holy Spirit to lead the abundant life and this makes the most important decision in life the decision to accept Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord. This is necessary because this is the only way to be born again into the family of God.
Without the fullness of God’s Spirit men and women cannot fulfil God’s plan to rule on earth as His beloved and royal family. God, however, has made it possible for us to receive His Holy Spirit. He did this by choosing Abraham to be the head of a new family through whom He would restore man’s rule on earth. According to the Scriptures God chose Abraham because He knew that Abraham would trust, obey and worship Him. He knew that he would be a father who was capable of teaching his children and household to keep the way of the Lord. (Genesis 18) “Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness” Romans 4:3. He was so obedient that he was ready to sacrifice his long awaited and beloved son Isaac when God demanded that he did. Like Abraham, husbands and fathers under the Lordship of Christ, have a God-given role in the family. They have the responsibility to pray and intercede for their families, teach them about Christ and take care of them as they grow to be like Christ.
Many problems facing the world today result from a break-up in family relationships. This is mostly because parents have failed in their spiritual roles. The family should be the place where a child is taught the Word of God and grows up to lead a Christ like life. The Scriptures declare in Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” The Word of God again clearly declares that if we fail to teach our children to carefully observe and obey the commandments of God “we shall have sons and daughters but they shall not be ours; for they shall go into captivity” Deuteronomy 28:43. When parents disobey God’s commandments they invite a curse upon their families. When they obey His commandments they invite a blessing. The curse of disobedience to God’s word is that parents will not enjoy their children. Are we enjoying our children or have they gone into captivity? Can we honestly say that our sons and daughters have not gone into various kinds of satanic captivity? Can we deny that they have not gone into captivity to alcohol, drugs, sexual immorality, the occult and various types of cults? The reason is our failure to teach our children to observe the commandments of God. Parents have a responsibility to teach their children the Word of God. The Scriptures when read, taught or studied, and obeyed will transform lives to such an extent that families will enjoy a loving, intimate, forgiving and understanding relationship.
The future of the Church is the family. Although the Church can refer to a building, it also refers to the family of believers. The smallest unit of the Church is the family. Every Church resembles the families that make up the Church. When families demonstrate God’s character, His compassion and love in their lives and His desire to meet the demands of the needy, these will be reflected in the Church. The Church is to be Christ like to fulfil God’s Divine purpose. The spiritual growth of families affects their Church in the same way the spiritual growth of the Church affects the families that make up the Church. Our spiritual goal is not just about what we do for God but more importantly about becoming like Christ. Christian character is not about honouring or impressing man but about living out our faith with reverence and respect for God.
The family is important to God and Jesus, like all other children, was born into a family. Joseph and Mary provided a home for Him and, as new parents, fulfilled all the requirements of the Law. Eight days after his birth was the circumcision and naming. On the fortieth day were the presentation of the firstborn as ‘holy to the Lord’, and the offering of two birds for Mary’s purification. He was taken to the Temple to worship at the required times. God’s laws are for our benefit and our special moments of consecration in obedience to His commandments are important, both to Him and to us. They are occasions for Him to bless us and for us to receive His blessings. God has given children to parents as a sacred trust, to name them and to shape them to become members of His holy family, the Church. The Church is to manifest the nature and character of Christ. It can only do this when we commit ourselves to a spiritual walk with the Lord. It depends on spending time in His presence, reading His Word and doing what He says.
Jesus grew up in a family. He had brothers and sisters and must have gone through all that is common to all homes, the fighting, the quarrelling, the teasing and the selfishness. The Scriptures declare that Jesus was tempted in all ways as we are yet He did not sin. He was tempted at home, at school and at work but He never had the wrong attitude or motive in all He did. The home is the best place to train a child and we cannot leave this important responsibility to schools and teachers. The child should see the family as the one place he or she will be loved and taken care of. A family cannot function as such without a relationship with God. To enjoy the blessings of family we need to be born into the family of God by accepting Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour and Lord. Every godly family should manifest the love, joy and peace of Christ in their homes. Their homes should actually be a reflection of the Church as Christ designed it to be. Let us ensure that our families enjoy the blessings of Christ and demonstrate the path of true godliness by trusting in the Lord with all our heart and not by leaning on our own understanding. Amen!
