This is the sixteenth, of a hopefully weekly series, that explores faith, religion, and Christianity. The idea is to share with you my faith, issues I am working on, and to promote discussion.

Few words stir up as many thoughts, stories, and emotions as does the word "family".

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Please check out the end of this article for links to previous Sunday posts.

Love them or hate them, we’ve all got one of some sort.

Family is complicated and with the holidays approaching, it is likely you will be spending more time with your relatives.

Or avoiding them.

Growing up in a big family, the holiday time was always filled tension.

From forced traditions and long car rides looking at lights, to the reading of the Scriptures before bed on Christmas Eve night.

The range of emotions always covered the spread.

As time passes, people and families change.

We get a choice on who we see (sometimes) and when we see them (sometimes).

We can make our own families or consider others as part of ours.

And we have the chance to make our own traditions.

Growing up, I didn’t always like my family or get along well with my brothers and sisters.

One sister of mine and I would sometimes dream / joke that maybe we were adopted because we thought ourselves different from the rest of them.

We weren’t all that different, but it does turn out that I was adopted.

Just not in the way we thought…

As for my family that I was born into, I eventually came to love, but it was not until I first was loved.

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.” - Luke 14:26 (ESV)

These words of Christ are best understood in context, but if you don’t have the time, let’s look at some quick explanations together.

The article, What did Jesus mean when He instructed us hate our father and mother in Luke 14:26?, provides the following to consider:

“This is the point of the passage. In order to be a disciple, we must be willing to give up everything for Jesus. Therefore, if our parents will not follow Jesus, or even if they disown us for being Christians, we must still choose Him over them. It is in this sense that we are "hating" our family members who reject the Lord or reject us because of the Lord. This is not easy, and of course it is right that we should love our family members and want our family members to love and follow God.” Source

This is difficult.

This article, How to Hate Your Wife, adds:

“I believe that when our Lord demands that His disciples must “hate” their family He means that they must give up their dependence upon family, and must depend totally upon Him.” Source

“Discipleship is not a matter of how much we have to offer, but of renouncing all that we think we have to offer.” Source

This turn from family, to forsaking family as a cost of discipleship in Christ, is a hard turn.

But it illustrates my need for adoption, yet into a different family, namely the family of God.

In Ephesians 1:5 the Apostle Paul writes: “He predestined us to be adopted through Jesus Christ for Himself, according to His favor and will. (HCSB)”

Again Paul in Galatians 4:4-5 penned: “When the time came to completion, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. (HCSB)”

And again Paul in Romans 8:14-17 had this to say: “All those led by God’s Spirit are God’s sons. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father!” The Spirit Himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God’s children, and if children, also heirs—heirs of God and coheirs with Christ—seeing that we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him. (HCSB)”

When I was adopted into God’s family it changed how I viewed my own family.

It opened my eyes that I was probably more flawed than the rest of them combined.

Or at least at times it seemed that way.

However, comparisons aside, I had let go of the old ways, thoughts, and habits of how I interacted with my relatives.

Now I had transformed mind.

This holiday season, I invite you to consider joining our family in Jesus Christ, and I thank Him for thoses of you who are already home.

If you are interested in knowing more about Jesus Christ, please let me know.

Lord willing, see you all next Sunday!

Thanks,
@strangerarray

Written by Michael Paine

Follow me @strangerarray because I want you to be a part of the family.

Donations to PayPal.Me/michaelpaine are also welcome because my family has bills to pay.

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