Families are supposed to be free and powerful. They are supposed to be filled with love, joy, compassion, and the presence of God. Heaven is all about relationships. Father, Jesus, and Holy Spirit set the standard very high for healthy relationships. Unfortunately so many have relationships that are not healthy, even in families. Family means a lot more than dad, mom, son, and daughter. But lets start here. I believe there is not one wasted word in the Bible. Every word has a purpose and is an invitation to an encounter with the person of Jesus. Throughout the Bible God is constantly bringing up genealogies. He takes the time to write generation after generation. I'll be honest, I skipped a lot of these when reading the Word. But a few days ago I purposely read them, and then I had a revelation of His goodness. God cares more about our families than we do. Whoa! Most families are crippled with sin, disease, torment, poverty, and death. Is that okay with you? Because it's not okay with God. Lets say a Grandfather and Grandmother have twelve grandchildren. They have raised them to be lovers of Jesus. They are blessed by two more, a set of twins. But when they are born they have a heart defect, and they only have days to live. What does this mean? We can blame God and get bitter, but if we really knew Jesus we would know how good He is. We could also thank God, thinking He's teaching a lesson. How many times did Jesus give a disease and tell someone to learn character? Oh right, never. We need to realize disease is sent to destroy family. The Grandma realizes this and heads to her prayer closet. She praises God for His goodness and love, not the disease. This is an attack on her family and generational line. Her grandchildren are her inheritance. She agrees with God, saying this is not allowed. Within hours the doctors are clueless because they are totally healed. Families are destroyed through many other ways. How many times do we hear of a son and dad not talking? And how often do we become passive and take our family for granted? The closer we are to people the greater capacity we have of hurting them.
Danny and Sheri Silk are some of my biggest heroes ever. They devote themselves to see the restoration of all families. Families are made to represent Jesus and His love. There is nothing more powerful than a family that are laid down lovers. There is hope. There is no unforgivable sin. Divorce, adultery, physical or verbal abuse, sexual immorality, and betrayal, are all very hurtful. But as Christians we must always forgive and not stay bitter. We are powerful and free, we always have the choice not to forgive and walk away. But how's that going to work out for you?
