When Church is a Family

 

“I believe that one major reason that the church of Jesus Christ in the United States is very close to being in sheer chaos today is because so many people think themselves as individuals rather than as part of the body of Christ.  Christianity is not ‘every man for himself;’  it’s every man together for Christ.”  Wayne Mack 

  Today we’re beginning a new sermon series that will take us through the end of September: One Another – Doing Church Life Together. Personally, I’m very excited about this series. One of the distinctives of the early church that’s God’s plan for us even today is strong relationships. Please pray that this will not be a “sermon series” or just “a bunch of good talks.” God wants us to apply His truth. It’s why we’ve nearly begged you to either be part of a group or even lead one to work through this series at a deeper level. We’re even providing all of the discussion questions for you.
  This dovetails with one of my great burdens for our church and one of my continual prayers. Consistently, I pray that the Lord will give us three things at Grace: 1) A passionate love for Jesus Christ. 2) A passionate love for each other. 3) A passionate love for our community.
  The majority of American Christians have a “consumer” understanding of the church, not a biblical one. They attend church to find what’s in it for them. It’s something to attend for an hour a week to “shop” spiritually. They don’t have deep relationships, nor is there deep commitment. Such thinking is foreign to what Scripture teaches about church relationships.
  Of all the metaphors used to describe the local church, one that stands out above the rest is family. In fact, it’s so much of the essence of the church that it can’t even properly be called a metaphor. Metaphors describe what the church is like or similar to—light, flock, field, building—but family is not metaphorical; it’s a literal description of the phenomena we know as church. That’s because the church is not like family; it is family.
  God is literally our Father, Jesus is literally our elder brother, and we are literally brothers and sisters in Christ. Family is the primary way the early church identified themselves. This is seen by the fact that the word disciple, so prevalent in the early part of the New Testament, disappears after the book of Acts. It’s replaced by the terms brother and sister for the rest of the Bible. Family dominates the self-understanding of the early church. When the apostolic writers wanted to address an entire congregation, they frequently called them “brothers and sisters.” The people in the seats around us are, in fact, our family.
  Acknowledging our spiritual sibling relationships isn’t an intellectual exercise; it’s a profound truth that should stir deep emotions and overflow in tangible ways. Because they are family, we learn their names (3 John 15) and find out their interests. We display “family affection” (Romans 12:10). There are no cliques, favoritism or partiality (James 2:1-9). In innumerable ways, we seek to say: you are my brothers and sisters, and I love you.
  Throughout the New Testament, God commands us to have mutual care in the local church. The epistles, in particular, tell us what it means to be brothers and sisters and teach us “how one ought to behave in the household of God” (1 Timothy 3:15). With their various “one another” commands, these New Testament letters remind us that life in God’s family will reorient our allegiance—not only on Sunday but every hour of every day.
  Consumers attend church looking for what they will receive. Those with a biblical understanding of the church look for what they can give to it of time, money, and themselves. The church is not a man-made society that we can participate in—or opt out of—according to our level of comfort. The PTA, the HOA, or the library book club don’t obligate us to personal sacrifice when things get tough. Family does. And because God’s people are our family, we will hold our own preferences and priorities loosely. We set aside our social status, age group, ethnicity, and politics for the family. We open our hearts and doors. We pull up another chair at mealtime and add another name to our prayer list. We will give them our groceries,  furniture, and smiles. We will share their grief and trials and disappointments. We will continually look for ways to show love. 
  As a result, we will expect to have less money and less free time than we would have on our own. We will expect to have added sorrow. We will also expect to have great joy. 
  One of my favorite stories is told by a Vacation Bible School teacher with a second-grade class. A new student came into her class one day, a little boy, but he had a physical challenge; he only had one arm. The teacher wished she’d had a chance to coach the kids about accepting this boy and not treating him any differently. But the children did great. At first, they  stared a little bit. The teacher just didn’t want anyone to embarrass him in any way. Yet at the end of the class, she forgot herself, and said, “Kids, let’s close the class today by doing that little exercise: ‘This is the church, this is the steeple, open the doors and see all the people.”  Then she looked down and noticed the child missing an arm, and she realized she’d done to him what she hoped none of the kids would do. And right then one of the girls in the class reached out her right hand and put it in the boy’s left hand and she said, “Come on, Davy, let’s build a church together.” 
  That’s what a biblical church does. It builds the church together. It understands spiritual family. It brings people together who apart from God’s grace would never come together. It unites us around Jesus’ cross and submits to the Spirit to build a family a lost world can’t comprehend. And it’s all for His glory! It’s what the New Testament is teaching us as it continually shares passage after passage of the “one anothers.” 

Can we help you spiritually? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address.