Truth Seekers Newsletter
June 3, 2007: The Family of God
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God's Grand Design for Communication: The Word!
A word is a symbol that helps us bring up a picture in our minds. Words help us communicate with each other. If I say the word, "dog", even though there is no dog present in the room, we all have a picture in our heads of what a dog looks like. But, if I bring the dog into the room and show the dog to you, that picture in your mind will become even clearer.
How Do You Learn Best?
Many of us learn best by seeing and hearing combined. And many agree that there is truth in the expression, "a picture is worth a thousands words." God did even better than a picture. He came to earth in person.
The Animated Word!
John 1:1 tells us that Jesus is the Word. God took His Word and brought it to Life! As Jesus, He showed us how He wanted to relate to us and how He wanted us to relate to Him.
God showed us Himself as a loving Father, who wanted to fellowship with us. As Jesus, He showed us a potential picture of ourselves as obedient children, whose mission was to let other people know that they were designed to be a part of God's Family.
Are You the Son or Daughter of God?
If we ask, "Who is the Son of God?" most of us would answer, "Jesus." But if we are asked, "Are you the son (or daughter) of God?", we become uncomfortable. And yet John 1:12 and other scriptures confirm that we are indeed children of God.
What Does It Mean to Be A Child?
What benefits do we receive from being a child within a family?
Love, protection, fellowship, understanding the order of the family and where we fit, belonging, guidance from the head of the family
What are our obligations as a child within the family?
Respect for the heads of the family, respect for others within the family, to give and receive love within the family, to protect others within the family, to follow the rules set for the functioning of the family, to bring honor to the family name
Those very characteristics of earthly families are also true of the Family of God!
Who's In Charge Here?
God began His Recorded Word in the Bible by giving us a peek at the first family. God created Eve mercifully without pain to Adam. But when Eve sinned, while there was forgiveness from a merciful God, there were also consequences. God decreed that Eve would bear children in pain. Not only that, but God also decreed that Eve would desire her husband, and that he would rule over her.
What was The Lesson of Family Illustrated by God and Eve?
- Obedience is important. The Father expects that we obey Him.
- When we don't obey Him, there are consequences.
- God loves us and He will keep giving us gifts, such as children.
- For a family to work well, everything must be done in order. God put Adam in charge. While Eve would have input into decisions, the ultimate decisions for the family would be made by Adam. Eve was subject to Adam.
Oh Come Now, This is 2007! Women are Liberated!
In a marriage relationship, God made it very clear that husbands and wives are partners in receiving blessings. He wanted them both to first submit to Him and then to each other. God's intent was not in establishing who would "boss" whom, but He wanted to gently establish order within the family.
For you women, who are still not so sure about this, check out 1st Peter 3:7. It says if the men don't treat us as they should, their prayers will not get ready answers! (I remind Jay of that!)
What Is Obedience?
Obedience is to comply with the wishes of one who is in authority over us. While Adam and Eve unfortunately showed us the picture of a lack of obedience, Jesus showed us the perfect example of obedience. He did just what the Father told Him to do. Obedience is a love relationship between the parent and the child.
Do It Because I Say So!
Which is more important? Word or living example? Jesus emphasized how important it is to teach by both word and example. Matthew 23:3 shows Jesus cautioning His Disciples. Obey what are right words, but don't follow bad examples.
Sometimes children stop listening to parents because they hear their parents saying one thing, but demonstrating another. Notice that Jesus never said if a parent fails to live up to what they teach, that it is ok just not to obey them. Jesus was very specific about submitting to authority over us.
So What Does a Child Do When the Parent is Mandating That He Obey Bad Advice?
A child must obey, but once a child learns right from wrong, he can pray diligently that his parent's heart will be changed. God will honor that prayer. God will work out the circumstances so the child does not have to follow the parent into sin.
Fortunately, with God, we don't have to worry about any difference between Word and Example. God's Word is true and can be trusted. Jesus' Example is perfect.
Why Do We Obey?
Some reasons are fear, respect and love. The best reason to obey someone is because you love them. Many parents can extract some level of obedience by instilling fear in their children.
However, obedience because of fear is an open highway to satan. Those who have obeyed because of fear often stop obeying when they are free of the presence of the one they feared. Unfortunately, many who have obeyed out of fear are also just waiting for the day when they can make their own children obey out of fear.
Obeying For Love
Jesus put it simply in John 14:15. "If you love Me, obey Me." Jesus made it clear that the reason He obeyed the Father was because He loved Him.
The flip side is also true. Read John 14:24. "Anyone who does not obey Me does not love Me." In God's World, obedience is a measure of Love.
The Results of Obedience
Read Ephesians 6:1. When we obey every Word of God and every action demonstrated through Jesus, we start to look like God's Children. The world starts to see more and more of the Father reflected in us. The Love that began as a relationship with God starts to be expressed in other ways.
Why Did God Invent Families?
To show the world what a relationship with Him looks like! Just as God showed us His Love through His Demonstration of His Relationship with Jesus, so God wants us to show, through our relationships with our family, what a Godly Relationship looks like.
Painful Family Relationships
While relationship with God the Father and Jesus was always perfect, without a hint of rebellion, the sin factor that came into play through Adam and Eve, still haunts us today. We struggle in our families sometimes. Even the most dedicated Christian families still struggle to be that perfect demonstration of relationship.
The Labor is Worth the Delivery!
Galatians 4:19 speaks once again of childbirth ... and this time, it is the struggle to birth Jesus in other people. How do we show the Living God to others?
- Submission to God's Authority.
- Praise and worship and thanksgiving that He is God our Father.
- Soaking up so much of His Love that it spills out on everyone around us.
- Obedience to His Word.
- Following the Example of Jesus.
- Loving one another as the Father has loved us.
You Look So Much Like Your Father!
God's Goal for us, as His Children, is for the world to say of us, as Jesus said of Himself, "If you have seen them ... you have seen the Father!"
This week, recognize the special relationships in which God has placed you ... and know that He placed you there to be a living example to the world of His Relationship to you and what He wants for all His Children!
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