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Through the waters of Baptism, we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, who "Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if chil- dren, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ." (Romans 8:16–17). Regardless of our status in our earthly family, in Baptism we are adopted by God into His family, welcomed as His children, and given the gift of His eternal inheritance. Our earthly parents may let us down or abandon us completely, but God is "Father of the fatherless and protector of widows" (Psalm 68:5) who loves, protects, and provides for us perfectly. Our earthly siblings may betray us or turn their backs, but Jesus is the friend who Proverbs 18:24 describes as "closer than a broth- er"—one who shows the greatest expression of sacrifi- cial love by giving up His life for us (Mark 10:45). Not only does the Spirit's work in Baptism connect us to the Father and Son but it also brings us into a special relationship with the rest of the Church. All who have been baptized in the one true faith have been grafted into God's family tree, making us fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. The person in the pew next to you isn't just a neighbor or colleague but family and should be treated as such. The apostle Paul gave the young pastor Timothy instructions on how to interact with various church members, a guide for how we should interact with one another: "Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity" (1 Timothy 5:1–2). In this way, we are never truly alone or separated from family. This reality became true for me the first Christmas I was away from my extended family. My husband and I were in the first year of our call to a church far from either of our families. That Christmas, there were no family gatherings or traditions that I'd come to associate with the holidays. But sitting in the pew that Christmas morning, I soon discovered a new set of grandmas and grandpas, aunts, uncles, nieces, and nephews. While separated from those I shared DNA with, I was joined with family around another table, the Lord's Table, to enjoy a special meal that's shared only with family—the Lord's Supper—and to celebrate the life, death, and res- urrection of Jesus Christ, who gave us our family name. In that moment, these words from Jesus took on new meaning: "'Who is My mother, and who are My broth- ers?' And stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, 'Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother'" (Matthew 12:48–50). This is not to neglect or reject earthly family but to elevate the significance of our church family. All who believe in Jesus and do the will of the Father are part of the same household, where Jesus is the chief corner- stone (see Ephesians 2:19–22). Regardless of our standing with our earthly family, in faith, we are always welcome as God's children, recipi- ents of our heavenly Father's love and mercy. As Luther said in his introduction to the Lord's Prayer in the Small Catechism: Wh the wds God tely inv to believe th He r true Fh a th we are H true children,o th wh a boldns a cfidence we may ask Him as dear children ask their dear fh. w Lutheran Life 5

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