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The Family of God
In Genesis 12 God promised to bless Abraham, to make his name great, and that through his family, “All the families of the earth would be blessed” (Gn. 12:2). That promise sent Abraham on an incredible journey of faith. It led to his son Isaac, a nation in the children of Israel, and eventually led to Jesus who, like Abraham, left His homeland in heaven so that through His journey of faith all the families of the earth would be blessed.
The apostle Paul writes about this in Galatians, “Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, ‘In you all the [families] will be blessed’” (Gal. 3:7-8). He goes on to say in that same chapter, “In Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's children, heirs according to the promise” (Gal. 3:27-29).
We sometimes think of Peter's sermon in Acts two as the first time the gospel was preached, but here the Bible says the gospel was preached thousands of years before Jesus ever walked the earth. And the message was simple; through Abraham (ultimately through Jesus) all the families of the earth would be blessed. The Gospel is the good news that we have a family in Christ Jesus! And that means a several things:
(1) We have a name to carry on. Names are important. They tell us who we are and who we belong to, and as Christians we belong to the family of God. Colossians 3:17 says “Whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” Like an athlete wearing their last name on the back of a jersey, we carry the name of Christ everywhere we go. And every day it is our honor to live up to that name and make our Father proud. He’s rooting for us!
(2) We have brothers and sisters. One of the greatest blessings of God’s family is that we never have to journey alone. Hebrews 10:24 says, “Let us consider how to stir one another up to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day drawing near.” Just like a family that looks out for each other, we have brothers and sisters in Christ who look out for our souls. And while they may stir us up in more ways than one at times, we encourage one another to love and good works, bearing our burdens together as we make that journey to the Father. He’s calling for us!
(3) We have an inheritance. 1 Peter 1:3 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to His great mercy He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and kept in Heaven for you.” The best part of any journey is when you finally get to go home. One day the family of God will go home to our Father in Heaven, “In My Father's house are many dwelling places... If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also” (Jn. 14:2-3). He’s waiting for us!
(4) We have an amazing Father who blesses us, saves us, and calls us His own. James 1:17, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” 1 John 3:1-2, “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called His children; and so we are... Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when He appears we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is.” Like that father from Luke 15 who waits every day for his wandering son to come up over that horizon, our Father in heaven eagerly waits for the day when we all get to Heaven, to dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
