The meaning of family

By CHERYL CRUCE

The little kitchen nook of our home has become a favored gathering place for guests. A piece of carved wood spelling out the word family is carefully placed on a shelf above the kitchen window. Its brilliant white coloring set against a purple background grabs the eye of visitors who enter the room. This morning over a cup of coffee, my mind wanders, contemplating the meaning of family.
My growing years were blessed with loving parents who taught me the value of family. To say we were perfect would be untrue; with seven children, we had our share of conflicts. George Bernard Shaw said, “If you cannot get rid of the family skeleton, you might as well teach it to dance.” Everyone in my family learned to dance at a young age. However, despite our struggles, we remain devoted to one another.
As social structures change, so does the definition of family. Whether we agree or disagree with the characterization, the fact remains that family is built on love and understanding. Today’s family may be grandparents raising grandchildren. A family could consist of a single mom or a single dad trying to balance life while caring for their young ones. There are two-mom and two-dad households, multi-racial households, and families built from the halls of foster care and adoption. Adopting a child is a beautiful process my family has experienced many times.
Reflecting on our spiritual side, each of us is adopted into the family of God through the love, death, and resurrection of Jesus (Ephesians 1:4-5). I am amazed at the manner of love God bestows on His children, for we are His children made in His image. His greatest desire is to grow us to love one another as He has loved us (1 John 3:1-2). Regardless of how we may define our earthly family, He chose us before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless through Him in love.
Scripture teaches the beauty of God’s family through devotion, tragedy, and restoration in the Book of Ruth. After the tragic loss of her husband and sons, Naomi told her daughters-in-law to return to their own families. However, in a commitment of love, Ruth remained with Naomi saying, “where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God” (Ruth 1:16). For Ruth and Naomi, the family became structured by their faith and dedication to God and each other.
The teaching of the faith-structured family continued through the words of Jesus when someone said to Him that His mother and siblings were outside the place where He was teaching. Jesus responded that His family would be those who did the will of the Father (Matthew 12:48-50). He was not refuting the biological family and the need to love one another but reaching beyond the restraints of the physical man to bring us to a spiritual love for each other.
Regardless of where you are, the love of Christ can bind us together like no other. I urge you today to find a Body of Christ (a fellowship of believers) and become a part of a family more remarkable than you can ever imagine. We are all created in the image of our Father. Our faith in God can cause our dry bones to live again (Ezekiel 37), to rejoice and dance before Him. Let us be the family He has called us to be.                                                                                                                                             
Psalm 103:17 But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children.

Cheryl Mixon-Cruce is Pastor of Ochlockonee Bay United Methodist Church and Sopchoppy United Methodist Church.