The Relationship with Your Family
Finish the sentence:
My family is _____.
What word(s) came to mind?
Crazy?
Loud?
Strong-willed?
Amazing?
My family is allllllll those things and so much more. This week we dive deep into the truth of our relationship with our families and how God works in it.
1. Family is our first ministry
Okay, first thing’s first - what is ministry?
Ministry comes from two Greek words:
“diakoneo” which means “to serve”
“douleuo” which means “to serve as a slave.”
So piecing this together, we see that family is the first place in which we serve.
To create a family is the first thing God commands for Adam and Eve (Genesis 1:28). The relationship with your parents is the very first command with a promise (Ephesians 6:2). Countless times in the Bible, God uses the family as the way in which He can show you His faithfulness, his peace, his protection. God loves the family. And so should we.
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
2. Family is a battleground for you to fight with love
Truth be told - family is hard. These are the people who have known you for the longest, have known you the fullest, and sometimes can hurt you the deepest. But know that in a place where there is so much deep-rooted ties, there is a place where God can fill you to use his even deeper love.
When we realize the enemy hates success in families. It is evident in the fights we have with our parents, the rise of divorce rates, the family ties that have been declared broken.
But God is not done yet.
And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Ephesians 5:2
There is a battle in the unseen world that we are called to rise up and fight. God has called us to fight for our families and see them with the love and grace that He has abundantly poured onto us.
1. Family reveals the truth of your identity and purpose
It’s no accident that our genes come from our parents. That means that whether we like it or not, we are a piece of them. Whether we like our sibling(s) or not, we came from the same gene pool. Whether we like our families or not, at the end of the day we are dealing with a little bit of ourselves.
A year ago, I went to the Philippines for my cousin’s wedding. It was my very fist time meeting all 150-ish of my aunts, uncles, and cousins and never has my identity made more sense.
Being surrounded with so many people who are like you shines light to the beautiful things God has put inside of you! Your quirks, your mindset, your struggles, and your strengths are all laid out before you in the form of 150 people. It’s insane!
2. Family reveals just how good your God is.
As much as generational curse is brought up in the church, I am a firm believer of generational blessings. When God made His covenant with Abraham, we see that it is something that transcends beyond Abraham’s lifetime.
“And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you.”
Genesis 17:7
Talk to your families and you will 100% see just how good your God is. I can attest to this that his faithfulness in your life is the answered prayers of your grandma, a generational curse that is broken with you and blooming for blessings that will go beyond your lifetime.
BAE, honor your family for what God honors it to be. Fight for your relationship with your family -as difficult as it may be - and pray for their hearts. Have faith that God is moving. Continue to plant your seeds of love, of grace, of mercy, because God has shown it to you first.
Draw closer to them, because God will use even this as a place to unveil identity and purpose. As you do, continue to see the blessings and unveil a new facet of just how good your God is.
With love,
Jo