The Family of God
Even as an avowed introvert, there is a fundamental truth about human nature that I must acknowledge: humans are social creatures. As beings created in the image of God, we were made to experience love and relationship. That’s why God said that it is not good for man to be alone. So as much as I often prefer time to myself at home, to large social gatherings—I acknowledge my need to be part of a community.
In the wise words of Solomon, “Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.” (Ecclesiastes 4:12) There is strength in the bonds we share with each other. Just like God said one man shall chase a thousand, and two shall put ten thousand to flight, we are exponentially stronger together than on our own. And while this is true for everyone, it applies especially to the church. The Bible even uses the illustration of the church making up one body. Just like your body needs each of its separate parts to work together as one whole, the members of the church need each other. Trying to be a Christian on your own would be like a disembodied finger and foot and nose trying to survive on their own. Each body part cannot do much by itself. But a healthy church is greater than the sum of its parts. By working together, with Christ as the head, the church is able to accomplish great things.
Recently, I’ve seen how much the support of a church family means, through both ups and downs. They say that joys shared are doubled, and sorrows shared are halved. We’ve experienced both with our church family. This past June, my wife and I found out we’re having our first baby! My wife and I are not the type of people to celebrate much, so we weren’t planning to have a gender reveal party. But our church planned one for us, and it really did make the experience so much more exciting and joyful. I already would’ve been thrilled to know that we’re having a boy, but sharing that moment with the whole church—counting down together and seeing the blue confetti—multiplied our joy for sure.
Then a few months later, at around the 26 week mark, we had a scare with the pregnancy. Everything had been going smoothly, but one night my wife started having contractions. It was still quite early in the pregnancy so we really didn’t want her to go into labor at that point. It was scary for us as her contractions started getting more intense and frequent. As we waited for our doctor’s office to open, we reached out to our friends and family for prayer. Soon the contractions slowed down, and by the time we saw the doctor they had pretty much abated.
So thankfully, my wife did not go into labor that day. But after examining her, the doctor warned us that she still had a high risk of going into labor early. For the next month, my wife was on light bed rest, and while she was feeling okay physically, the worry of having a preterm labor made it a stressful month. That’s when we saw how burdens shared are halved. We were overwhelmed with support from our church family. We received so many encouraging messages, and it gave us great peace to know that so many people were praying for us. Many different church members stopped by to drop off food, and I don’t think my wife would’ve survived on my cooking without them! Besides the physical nourishment, we were comforted by their love and care.
I know we’re very blessed to belong to such a caring community. I know not every church is the same. I’ve also heard sad stories of people being let down by their church when they needed their support. But no matter our experience in our local churches, we all have the privilege of being part of the family of God. God is our Father and Jesus is not ashamed to call us brethren. Behold what manner of love, that we should be called the sons of God! It’s amazing to consider that we are God’s children. Heaven will be like a great big family reunion. I look forward to seeing you there!
Currently, Christian is studying theology at Southwestern Adventist University and serving as a youth pastor for the Dallas Fort Worth Korean SDA Church. He desires to be a vessel to share God's amazing grace and salvation!