The Family in Christ
Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. (1 Timothy 5:8)
John Wooden, a famous american basketball coach, once said “there is nothing more important than family and love”. As believers, we should be able to understand what he meant with enough clarity: Yahweh is love and therefore we should be able to talk about Him and His goods around the Earth, spreading that love. But family? It’s one of the most touched upon topics in the faith, but rarely to the full extent that we want it to go. If we are to follow Christ, the Word of God everyday, we need to know the circumstances of this. We need to know what is the Family in Christ?
To understand what the family in Christ is like, we need to go back to the beginning. In fact, the book of Genesis shows us the first family being created, with Adam and Eve. When Adam says “At last! This one is bone from my bone, and flesh from my flesh!” in Genesis 2:23 and the following verse, we see the first marriage and the first family being formed.
However, after that, there aren’t many great examples of families in the Bible. Many families are broken apart by sin and transgressions. The previous example of Adam and Eve starts this after the first sin, when Adam blames Eve for the fall (Genesis 3:12). Similarly destroyed by sin, their sons, Cain and Abel, will fall to this when Cain will kill Abel because of jealousy (Genesis 4:1 - 16). Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses and David are but a few heroes of the faith (Hebrews 11) who would have tumultuous family lives. This could be attributed to each of them either sinning in some way or entering a situation in which sin had already made its mark.
Yet, the Bible presents what the family in Christ is like on so many different occasions. The biblical family unit, the way that Yahweh established it, is a man and woman coming together (Ephesians 5:31). As a couple, whether they decide to have children or not, they should follow the Word of God to know how to direct their relationship with one another. It is then that Colossians 3:18 - 19 comes into play, which says “18 Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting for those who belong to the Lord. 19 Husbands, love your wives and never treat them harshly.” This verse carries extra weight if the couple decides to have children.
In that situation, they are no longer just a couple: they are parents. They are meant to bring this child up in righteousness, and their relationship will set the precedent for that child's life,for the child can only reproduce what they were shown by the father (John 5:19). The relationship of the parents must be rooted in faith and righteousness, so that the children can live their lives in that same manner. As parents, they are to rear their children to Yahweh. Deuteronomy 6, says it well
These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
Deutteronomy 6:6-7
In conclusion, the family in Christ is the family that follows the Word of God consistently. They speak about the goodness of the Lord and keep His Word in their hearts. They are a family which sings the praise of the God that they know, the one who saved Israel and who created all of the Earth. It’s that family that the Lord is looking for.