What it means to be part of God's family
Today is Family Day in many parts of Canada, a day where most families will intentionally spend time together, prioritizing the importance of community. While we all belong to some sort of family through birth, marriage or adoption, not all of us may be blessed with having a supportive family where we feel like we are loved and accepted. Maybe you come from a broken or strained family that has made you feel all alone, as though you don’t have a family at all. Whatever your family situation may be today, as Christians, we can find comfort in knowing that we are part of a bigger and even better family—God’s family.
See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!
I John 3:1
As believers in Christ, we have been grafted into His family tree and adopted as children of God. When we were physically born into the world, we were born into our earthly family but when we become born again, we become part of His spiritual family—the Church. It is only through grace by our confession of faith that we can be accepted into God’s household. When we believe that God gave His only Son Jesus to die for our sins and we receive His Spirit, we accept the unmerited gift of calling God our Heavenly Father, Jesus our Brother and experience the fullness of God’s unmatchable love for us.
Being part of God’s family means having our needs met by our good Father, experiencing a purposeful and abundant life, acquiring an eternal inheritance and gaining a large and loving spiritual family united by our faith and love for God. Unlike our earthly families, this community of brothers and sisters is not tied to our biological bloodline but by the blood of Jesus Christ! Together, we form a diverse and loving spiritual family that cares for one another and seeks to meet each other’s needs as we seek to recruit new members into the family of God.
Today, as we celebrate Family Day with our biological families in Canada, let us also take the time to thank God for the beautiful spiritual family He has given us through Jesus. If you’re not currently connected to a church family, find a Biblically sound church near you and fellowship with other likeminded believers that will help you grow in your faith. As God’s family, may we continue to encourage, love and accept our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ and seek to live righteous lives worthy of the family to which we belong.