“Long ago the LORD said to Israel: “I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself.” Jeremiah‬ ‭31:3‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Good morning, brothers and sisters, 

Weeks like this we remember the fantastic gift God has given us called: family.

Through family, God grants more than we need, so much more than we could even know to ask for. He forms us through them, sustains us and provides for us. He reveals Himself to us through them, so we learn of His character, and we learn of His character’s contrast. As the best mom and dad are to their children, even more is our God to his chosen ones. Through extended family, friends who welcome us in as their own, we learn what it means to be made adopted in and we can then accept being adopted into the Kingdom family through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Our Savior. My Lord. 

It is through the family experience that God comes to us in the rhythms of daily monotony. He shows his wonders through the experience of life – 

meals and prayers, 

sleep and work, 

rest and play, 

births and deaths, 

anniversaries and parties, 

and memories. 

The hospitality of the family that welcomes children into its midst mirrors the hospitality of the church that welcomes new members into its life and worship. New life. Endless lineage of Yahweh. 

There really is no end to what family is – to the wonderful mystery God has given us in the blessing of our people.

Family is not normal. We are not entitled to them at all. There is no gift too small or routine for which we ought not to be extravagantly grateful. Every single brush we are reminded that we are not abandoned or alone. And, we are ever more thankful. Thank God and our families for such unique and caring graces – that we might be a part of such a mystery that we often assume is ‘ordinary’. 

No family is average. Neither is the God we serve. And, we ponder carefully the magnitude and generosity of both.

Wake up. Feel family love, near or far. Go. 

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