Family

Ok, so after a recent discussion about family and growing up, I started looking at what God's word says about family. I think a big part about talking about family depends on what ones definition of a family is. According to Random House there are two definitions I believe can be fitting. The first being that family is "parents and their children, considered as a group, whether dwelling together or not." The second says that family is "A group of people who are generally not blood relations but who share common attitudes, interests, or goals and, frequently, live together." Both are valid definitions and definition I would use, but, take out the living together part of the second definition, and that would be the definition that I use the most. Sure I have my biological family, but I probably would not be in relationships with them, if we were not blood-related. Therefore, the people I consider to be my family, are not blood-related, but rather they are amazing men and women of God who have helped me through so many difficulties in life and who care about me when others who should don't and love me for who I am, and most of all, me following Christ is not looked down upon, or seen as a bad thing in this family.

So, considering my definition of family is not one that most people would use as a first choice definition for the word, I decided to consult my Bible to see what God says about family, and what God considers a family. It's really quite interesting actually. According to my study Bible and the dictionary in the back of it, family is "a household unit of related people, possibly extending to an entire clan or tribe." Sounds more like the first definition and more commonly used definition to me. So I went a little further and checked out some verses. This is where I guess the real difficulty comes in. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love my family, a lot, and I would do anything for them, but when it comes to differences in religion or how you should go about life and stuff like that, I've got to choose my side and be committed to it. There's a lot people can do for you, but Christ can do a million plus times the amount of stuff for you, and He loves you no matter what. Unlike everyone else. So anyways, the difficulty comes with a verse in Luke in which Jesus is speaking.

"From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three." -Luke 12:52

He then continues to explain the divisions. But, and I could totally be taking this the wrong way or reading it wrong, the way I see it is Jesus is warning whomever he is talking to that when people choose to follow Christ, there may come some divisions in relationships that have previously existed, such as those with family members or others, who may not be Christians. But it's important to remember how much Christ can do for you that those people can't. And besides new relationships will come along, and most times they will be a hundred times better than the ones you had to leave behind. I KNOW SO!! Basically I think Jesus is asking us, will you risk your old relationships and the approval of your family to come and follow me?

So the difficulty comes with this verse, because who wants to leave relationships behind? They are relationships and they worked and you liked them for something they had that other relationships didn't have. Something stood out, or you and that person clicked, or maybe in the case of family, the relationship was almost sort of forced, in which case it may still be hard to choose and commit fully to a relationship with Christ and leave the relationship with your family behind because God's word says to honor your parents and because maybe you feel like you owe your parents for giving you life and raising you. And it seems tricky to me, because if indeed Christ is warning us of such divisions and telling us to choose and commit one way or another, but our families are not Christians, then what do you do, because 1 Timothy 5:8 says,

"If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever."

So, do you choose and commit to follow Christ and live a life that is glorifying to God? Or, do you choose to follow Christ, but not completely commit to it because you don't allow that division in the relationship with your unfaithed family, so that you can honor them and provide for them and not be worse than an unbeliever?

Basically, it's a hard choice, and my interpretations may be totally off. However, my focus really was that it's interesting the different definitions for family, and while I do have my own definition of family, I love my biological family and I love God and I do agree with the first definition being one type of family. But my family, in my eyes, is the amazing people who have helped me and who especially now with new relationships are helping me and care about me and who I don't have to put on a show for or wear a mask while I'm around them. So THANK YOU for your care and support!