My Perfect Family?

Over the Christmas break I spent some time catching up with my far flung family.

I come from a large family that has spread over Australia and various parts of the world, so getting together is no small thing. When it does happen it is usually for some important event (such as a major birthday) and everyone puts the effort into getting there. We look forward to it and tend to make the most of it.

This time round we rented a whole block of rooms in a beach side resort on the south coast. Every morning it was down to the local cafe for breakfast, followed by a morning on the beach and then some other activity in the afternoon. It was a great time - the cousins caught up with each other, I caught up with my brothers and sisters and everyone had a lot of fun.

It made me realise what an amazing thing it is to be in a family. To share a bond with other people that is so strong that very little can come between us. It is not perfect but it is very good. They do things that drive me crazy and they do not share many of my beliefs but they are always there for me.

My Christian family is very similar. I share a significant bond with all those love and follow Christ. When I put my faith in Jesus, I was adopted into his family and all those who follow Christ are now my brothers and sisters. And whenever I have met one of them for the first time there has always been something that binds us together, something we share. However we are not perfect, at times we are sinful, we let each other down and drive each other crazy.

But there are two things that distinguish my Christian family from my biological one.

The first is that in Jesus (my older christian brother) I have one who shows me how to forgive and help others. Sometimes biological families don’t know how to do that. The second is that while it may not be perfect now, there is a time when God will make it perfect, when he will do away with my sin so that I can love and care for my Christian family all the time. Family life will be perfect.

I love my biological family but I long for my perfected Christian family. Now all I have to do is do what I can to make sure that my biological family is also part of my Christian one. Now that would be perfect!

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