A Family That Prays (and does a whole bunch of other stuff) Together Stays Together
A family that prays together stays together.
That is true as long as the many other elements of communal life are also shared.
A family that plays, works, fights, eats, gives, receives, laughs, cries, thinks, shares, serves, suffers, and celebrates together....... stays together.
It is also important for a family to be able to stay together, even when they are apart.
As we experience years of life, we will discover more and more occasions and situations when a family needs to be apart. For example, my twin brother, Ronnie, and I shared a womb, a crib, a bottle, parents, a bedroom, a classroom, toys, clothes, and at times, even a toilet. We could do that; we are twins. But using the toilet quickly became something that we needed to do apart.
In the Jewish world of Jesus, community was always a central concept. The individual was always seen as a part of the community, and the community was always thought of as an individual. The entire community, past, present, and future were considered as being together, because God’s covenant was made with all people of all generations past, present, and future (Deut. 29:15). –Marvin Wilson, Our Father Abraham, page 187.
God is an all inclusive God. He is a family God. God did not call Jacob to be His person; He called Israel to be His people. As far as Jesus is concerned, there is no private God, but a God who is always “our” God.
Imagine, for a moment, a family of 15 where one of the children has a habit of always walking into the house after school and without saying a word to anyone, goes straight to her dad, takes him off to a private place, and shares, with him alone, what’s going on in her life. She tells him of how great her day is going, how much she appreciates what he gave her for supper, and how thankful she is for her allowance. She also shares how scared she was last night in her dark room, when it was time to go to bed, how she’s being made fun of at school by some of the other kids, or how sick she’s feeling when she has the flu. No other member of the family is ever privy to her hurts, hopes, and happiness. No other member ever has the chance to help, share, or just listen.
Too many followers of Jesus, like that sister, want a personal Savior, private devotions, private confession, private worship, and individual time with Jesus. And…that’s all they want.
Being united is Jesus’ greatest hope for His followers (John 17:20-26).
Christ’s hope is that we will find fellowship, and by fellowship, we will find the joy that comes with serving Him and serving with Him, as a family.
Forever learning,
Johnny
6 comments:
One key to staying together, whether a home family, church family, or Christian family, is that you have to make that choice. It will not always be easy. You must choose to be that person that does his or her part to stay together. That means doing and being done to.
For instance, how does it make you feel when you want to give, but the person you want to give to won't receive? The flip side is equally important. It really hurts and is discouraging to need to receive, and nobody is there to or is willing to give.
We must really work on who we are for others.
Your statement about wanting to give, but the person you want to give to won't receive, is very powerful.
That statement probably is thought of in the romantic sense immediately for some people, but it made me think about those who want to glean wisdom and encouragement from great leaders. Often, the leaders who have the most to give are the least accessible; not because they are selfish or too important, but because they are busy, professional people.
It's a sad fact of life, so we have to work hard to receive where we can.
Grace and peace,
Johnny
We live in a society that has enabled us to live seperate from eachother. One of the bigest challenges we face in doing Gods work is building room for community in our hectic lives. Life gets messy when we let people into our sphere even when those people are family.
Jason,
Life does get messy. Others will say that it gets inconvenient.
My personal opinion is that guests, including family, rarely know how to be good guests. Those of us who need help, rarely know how to seek it properly and within proper expectations.
There are too many of us who believe that someone else should always be responsible for my liabilities. I should never have to pay a medical payment, watch where I walk, or even pay back what I've been given in my need. It's a right--a benefit of being in need to receive from others.
That is actually true, and at the same time those of us who are in need of something that someone else has, have a responsibility to be honorable recipients, not arrogant victims.
Maybe this is way off the subject, but a family is about much more than just the proper conduct of the givers; it also involves the proper conduct of the receivers.
Grace and peace,
Johnny
You make a good point in your post, and you do it in a way that I don't see how anyone could disagree with what you are saying. (at least this time...) :)
I really do agree with what you're saying...I think sp,e of the desire for a solitaire relationship is because of the "extended family." Too many times, people have been exposed because the extended family wanted to help and ended up doing more harm in the process. Or at least, that's the impression I get from wounded Christians.
Post a Comment