In the Family of God

"So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God's holy people. You are members of God's family." Ephesians 2:19 (NLT)

Right after Paul said Christians are citizens of a new kingdom, he adds that they are also members of a new family.

I once attended one of my family gatherings, and I noticed something. In the same home, there were babies and older relatives. There were teenagers and young couples. Everyone under the same roof. Nobody was sanctioned off. Nobody was told, "You can't sit over here." Why? Because we are a family. This is exactly what Paul is explaining here. God had a plan long ago to incorporate both Jews and Gentiles into a single family under the banner of Jesus Christ. God would be our Heavenly Father, and we would be brothers and sisters in Christ.

So what does that mean for us? It means we should be unified. It means we belong to one another. My gifts belong to you. Your gifts belong to me. We can be counted on the way a family can be.

As a pastor, I've noticed something. Sometimes someone will go through a hard season and look for someone to lean on, and the support just isn't there. But often (not always), for years and years, they were never the kind of person others could lean on either. Proverbs 18:24 says, "He who has friends must show himself friendly." If we want friends, we should first be friendly ourselves. Galatians 6:7-8 says, "We reap what we sow." If you have been sowing into people's lives, encouraging them, praying for them, walking with them through the hard seasons, then when your own hard season comes, you will find somebody's arm around your shoulder. Often, they are the same ones you were reaching out to before.

You might say, "I don't need anybody. I'm strong. I'm independent." As Americans, we often idealize the independent spirit. That is not what Jesus envisioned for His church. Jesus describes the church as interdependent, leaning on one another when we need it most.

Romans 12:5 says we are "individually members of one another." The New Living Translation puts it simply: "We belong to each other." My gifts belong to you. I belong to you. We are not just friends and acquaintances. We are family members, locked together. Whatever is happening in the world, whatever groups are in conflict with one another, is all secondary. The primary thing that brings us together is that we have all come under the banner of Jesus Christ. That is what ties us together.

Somebody said even the Lone Ranger had Tonto. You were not designed to do this alone. You need what the church provides. You need the church family. You belong, not just to God, but also to each other.

Reflection Question: Are you the kind of person others can lean on? Is there someone in your church family right now who needs you to show up for them the way you would want someone to show up for you?

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for making me part of Your family, with brothers and sisters I can count on and who can count on me. Forgive me for the times I have tried to do life on my own, like I don't need anybody. Help me to be the kind of person who shows up. Who encourages. Who prays. Who walks with people through the hard stuff. I want to sow into the people around me so that when they need someone, I am there. And remind me today that I don't just belong to You. I belong to the church family. In Jesus' Name, amen.

Adapted from: You Belong (Ephesians 2:19-22): https://www.joshfranklin.org/media/vzdhfww/10-you-belong-eph-2-19-22