It has been said that ‘we can choose our friends but we cannot choose our families’, and maybe there are times when we would like to do something about that! But the concept of marriage and family life is Almighty God’s great design and creation, for the benefit of us all. The family, consisting of Mother and Father together with their children, is the basic building block for a safe, secure, solid and strong society, for all people, in all nations of the world. Maybe you know examples of good, strong families?
But sadly, throughout the world today and evidenced not least in our own nation, we see family frictions, leading to family factions, leading to family fractures, causing deep fissures to appear which divide family members from each other. This often results in folk not wishing to speak to or even to have any contact with other members of their family, which causes immense difficulties and untold damage to all involved.
We can see this has happened right through history, stretching back to the book of Genesis in God’s Word where we read of Cain who murdered his brother Abel. When God called him to account for his actions, he uttered those well-known, self-justifying words, “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
As we see families fragmenting and society itself disintegrating before our eyes as individuals focus only on their inner selfishness, so the harmony and unity of society decreases and intolerance increases.
What is the answer? The Lord God Almighty, our Sovereign Creator, has revealed Himself to us all in His Word, the Bible, and through His Son, our Lord Jesus as: ‘a loving, faithful, heavenly Father.’
“Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; love and faithfulness go before You”
God clearly shows us in His Word that our major problem, the root of all other problems, is the fact that:
“Your sins have separated you from your God”
and that has caused the biggest family breakdown of all time; each of us is cut off from God our Father.
This is very obvious to Christians who know and love the Word of God, for our deliberate turning away from the Father and His good ways for us has caused the problems which we face. The deep unsolvable dilemmas that face mankind throughout the world will continue and swiftly become worse and worse if we refuse to listen to God and ignore His grace and love.
But the reverse is wonderfully true. If we listen to Him, if we do as He asks, if we walk in His ways, we will know His love, His grace and His mercy for “the Lord Almighty says ‘I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters’”
As we think of the parable which Jesus told of ‘The Prodigal Son’, we are reminded that the father was watching out with a yearning in his heart for his son to return. We read: “While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.” We also read that the son had “come to his senses.” He repented and said: “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.”
This is a beautiful and true representation of what our Heavenly Father will do when we come to Him in repentance. He forgives us, receives us and rejoices in our reconciliation with Him. How can this be?
“But God demonstrates His own love for us in this; while we still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Through the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus, Who died as our substitute, the sin which separates us from God the Father can be forgiven and removed: “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us,” then we are restored into the Father’s family.
Do you know the peace, joy and wonder of sin forgiven and harmony with your Heavenly Father?
Today, you could know the Father’s arms around you, receiving you, just as did the prodigal son.
As Paul wrote to the church at Corinth, “Be reconciled to God.”
Ron Brickman