THE FAMILY OF BELIEVERS
“For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.” Ephesians 2:18-21 NIV
In this letter to the church in Ephesus, Paul compares the church to a city in which every citizen is free given that slavery was a part of this society. He also compares it to a house in which every person is a child of the house, as he attempts to make them conscious of their privileges as sons of God.
In the context of the time in which Paul writes, the name of Jesus was spreading across all nations with great speed and all who believed were reconciled to Israel which was known to be the chosen people of God. The apostles were secondary in carrying the message of Christ, who is himself called the foundation as the son of God.
What this means for you and me child of God is that you have a family everywhere in the world where the name of Jesus is being proclaimed. Many decline the opportunity to be sent and spent by God because we desire much the comforts and security of familiarity, but the heart for missions is hinged on this simple reality: we are one family in Christ.
Jesus echoes the same sentiment in the gospel of Matthew 19:29: whoever has left father, mother, brothers or sisters, wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.
Every believer adopted through the name of our Lord is our brother, sister, father, mother, wife and child. Ponder and think of each in your own life and you will see that you have more on your side than on the side of the comforts of life you may hold so dear (2 Kings 6:17). Hallelujah!
Prayer: Father I thank you for this truth. My heart rejoices at the thought of the family you have surrounded me with through Christ. Of our father’s descendants that are as numerous as the stars in the sky, I find solace in knowing that you have made provision for human care and sweet friendships in every four corners of the world. If therefore you look for a man to send, here I am send me, in Jesus mighty name. Amen!
CI.
