My family lives all over the place. I have some family living in and outside of the country, around the globe, and in the same city. We're all caught up in our lives, doing our own things with our own immediate families that the only times we are brought together are during the holidays, emergencies, weddings, or other special gatherings of the like.
I like family reunions. The bringing together of everyone from everywhere. Everybody makes it. The one event a year or every few years that everybody makes an effort to attend. You get to see everybody; how they've grown, the people they've become, the children they had, or the ones that grew up. You get to show off your cool toys, your new clothing styles, and recipes. You talk about trips you've had, things you've seen, deals you've bargained, and share about things that have happened since the last time you had a family gathering. You catch up. That's what I like about family reunions. You rekindle your relationships with the people that share your blood (or are married to it).
I haven't had a family reunion for Christmas yet. I wonder if there will be one? Maybe our family reunion will be a New Years one instead, or maybe it will happen next year. Sometimes I wonder what makes people still get together after so many years of not seeing each other? I mean, yes, you are related by blood, but we're practically strangers. Maybe it's so you know who's part of your family. Maybe because no matter how far apart you've become, or what you've done, in the end - you're the same kind. You belong in the same category of last names, some % of your blood is the same, some of the genes are the same. I think God made family so that you have people who have to be there for you, people bound by blood so that you don't have to go through life on your own.
A family is like a network. You have your immediate family, and then you have your extended family. So maybe the immediate family is like the one that takes care of making sure you grow up right, and to keep you in check - people that are integrated into your daily life. Then the extended family is there because they were once part of an immediate family to somebody who is now part of a different (has their own) immediate family. Each individual immediate family that used to be all part of one immediate family now serve to care for each other's families. Say one family is going through a rough time, another family that is part of the extended family can come help them. Or when you have funerals, weddings, or babies, everybody is there to acknowledge the change in the family.
So I guess that's why we have family. Family is important because they are people that God has set up for us to learn from, grow with, and to support. Being part of a family teaches us what it means to be part of the greater family; the family of Christ. As we are all God's children, we all have our roles and parts to play in this giant family. Although we may have our immediate and extended family, we also have God's family to take care of. These people may seem even more removed than some of our extended family, but we are still family, bound by the Spirit of Christ that lives in us, and it's our job to be family to them and help them in times of need. There's a great family reunion in heaven that everyone's invited to; we just have to help each other get there.
Someday We'll Know - New Radicals
Reading Luke 16-18 today, here is an interesting passage,
Luke 16:10-12, "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?"
I like family reunions. The bringing together of everyone from everywhere. Everybody makes it. The one event a year or every few years that everybody makes an effort to attend. You get to see everybody; how they've grown, the people they've become, the children they had, or the ones that grew up. You get to show off your cool toys, your new clothing styles, and recipes. You talk about trips you've had, things you've seen, deals you've bargained, and share about things that have happened since the last time you had a family gathering. You catch up. That's what I like about family reunions. You rekindle your relationships with the people that share your blood (or are married to it).
I haven't had a family reunion for Christmas yet. I wonder if there will be one? Maybe our family reunion will be a New Years one instead, or maybe it will happen next year. Sometimes I wonder what makes people still get together after so many years of not seeing each other? I mean, yes, you are related by blood, but we're practically strangers. Maybe it's so you know who's part of your family. Maybe because no matter how far apart you've become, or what you've done, in the end - you're the same kind. You belong in the same category of last names, some % of your blood is the same, some of the genes are the same. I think God made family so that you have people who have to be there for you, people bound by blood so that you don't have to go through life on your own.
A family is like a network. You have your immediate family, and then you have your extended family. So maybe the immediate family is like the one that takes care of making sure you grow up right, and to keep you in check - people that are integrated into your daily life. Then the extended family is there because they were once part of an immediate family to somebody who is now part of a different (has their own) immediate family. Each individual immediate family that used to be all part of one immediate family now serve to care for each other's families. Say one family is going through a rough time, another family that is part of the extended family can come help them. Or when you have funerals, weddings, or babies, everybody is there to acknowledge the change in the family.
So I guess that's why we have family. Family is important because they are people that God has set up for us to learn from, grow with, and to support. Being part of a family teaches us what it means to be part of the greater family; the family of Christ. As we are all God's children, we all have our roles and parts to play in this giant family. Although we may have our immediate and extended family, we also have God's family to take care of. These people may seem even more removed than some of our extended family, but we are still family, bound by the Spirit of Christ that lives in us, and it's our job to be family to them and help them in times of need. There's a great family reunion in heaven that everyone's invited to; we just have to help each other get there.
Someday We'll Know - New Radicals
Reading Luke 16-18 today, here is an interesting passage,
Luke 16:10-12, "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?"
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