The Forever Family

“Every baby needs a lap.”
-- Henry Robin

That’s God’s design: that every baby is born into a loving family where the child can be cared for, loved, and nurtured.

The same is true for being born into God’s family.  God wants each of us to become
a part of His family (cf. Revelation 22:17).  Those who are “born again” (John 3:3,5),
are born into a family, God’s family! They then become “blood relatives” – related to God and to each other by the precious BLOOD of Christ.  God’s family is the church
(see 1 Timothy 3:15). 

In God’s family we have God as our Father and Christians as our brothers & sisters in Christ.  The church is to be a family where babes in Christ can be cared for, loved, and nurtured so that the new Christian can grow to maturity and prepare himself for his eternal home in heaven.

Yet some object to the importance of the church.  Some claim, “I don’t need the church.”  Others say, “They’re just a bunch of hypocrites.”

Here’s a reminder: NO family is perfect – not even God’s family.  The church is perfect in its divine design, but it consists of imperfect people.  But the church IS God’s family, and it is HIS family that He will bring home one day (cf. Ephesians 5:23).

Consider the following description of the church by Andrew Connally:

The church is not made up of people who believe they are better than others...
rather of those who believe they ought to be better than they are.

The church is not made up of perfect people... but of people who follow a
perfect Lord and realize they ought to do the best they can.

The church is not made up of people who never make mistakes... but of those who acknowledge their mistakes and try not to make the same ones again.

The church is not trying to withdraw from everyone... but rather
to bring everyone into its fellowship and love.

The church is not trying to set up arbitrary rules to hinder anyone...
but to show how following the rule of Christ helps us all.

The church is not trying to take the joy out of life... but to put real joy into life.

The church is not trying to make you feel ugly... but trying
to instill the beauty of holiness in your life.

-Andrew Connally

“The church is NOT made up of perfect people.”  That’s a relief, because none of us is perfect!  “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23), and “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).  But God gave His Son, Jesus, to die on the cross for our sins (John 3:16), so that each of us can be saved from sin and become a part of the Family of God.

We are born into God’s family when we: place our faith and trust in Christ (Acts 16:30-31), turn from our sins in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confess Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10), and are baptized (“born of water and the Spirit” in immersion) into Christ (John 3:3,5; Acts 2:38).  When we respond to Him in this way, we are added to the church, the Family of God (Acts 2:41, 47).  Then we are to live out the rest of our days, loving and serving our Heavenly Father, along with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Remember, God wants YOU to be a part of His family.  Won’t YOU be born into God’s "Forever Family", the church?

David A. Sargent, Minister