Giving Thanks for God's Found Family

Our thanksgiving celebration was a pleasant but quiet one.

I tried something new. I made cranberry sauce, which came out quite nice. Homemade sauce tends to be more intense than what you get from the store. It has a greater depth of flavor and the only remotely dubious ingredient would be the cane sugar!

We also made a pleasant discovery. Gluhwein Winternacht wine improves if it sits undisturbed for a year. It is pretty nice the first year, but give it a second year and it sweetens and mellows out. It will be a bit stronger so watch out for that.

We cooked the turkey our favorite way. We stuffed it with onions and apples, covered it, and roasted it. They do a great job of keeping turkey moist and impart a lovely flavor and aroma.

On the other hand, we also got a few reminders that “the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb.”

Last night, I felt the urge to look the saying about blood and water.

No one is entirely sure where it came from, but it appears to date back to medieval times and seems to be inspired by Scripture and an old German adage.

The adage was about the importance of family, while the scriptural passage is about being a part of Jesus' family.

Let's read Matthew 12:46 – 50.

46 While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him.
47 Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.”

48 He replied to him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?”

49 Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers.

50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”

Jesus explained part of what following Him means. Jesus made a found family; that's actually what Christianity is! He has some blood kin in there, like His mother and God the Father, but he also counts the apostles and anyone else following Him as His brothers and sisters. The thing is, as Christians, we are also siblings to each other too.

It sounds obvious, but it bears repeating.

That shy guy down the street who's more comfortable with cats than humans? If he's God's man, then he's your brother. That one kid who loves anime more than you do? If she's chosen God, then she's your sister. The poor family who has trouble making ends meet? If they chose God, then they're still your brothers and sisters.

The question is what makes family? Most would say love… and they'd be at least partially right. Going by the context the verse above was in, I'd say commitment is a big part of it too. Going by the context of verse above, it sounds as though the Jesus' genetic siblings turned on Him for being “controversial” and “not getting along” with the authorities when they told Him to stop preaching and stop helping people in God's name. Translation: His genetic kindred denounced Him when the going got tough.

John19:26 - 27 describes an interesting event at the Crucifixion. Jesus entrusts His mother to the apostle John. It doesn't come through in English, but according to the theologians I found, He used covenant language in that verse.

John 19:26-27 New International Version (NIV)

26 When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman,[a] here is your son,” 27 and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.
Footnotes:

1. John 19:26 The Greek for Woman does not denote any disrespect.

It matters because Israel has a long history of covenants joining people for life. Many of you probably already know about David and Jonathan. (David's family life wasn't great either) This page has some interesting points about Jewish covenants - http://www.bac2torah.com/covenant-Print.htm

God is not shy about making a covenants, and He always follows through. If you've chosen Him, He says you're family. As long as you choose Him, He chooses you.

So, the next question: What is love?

Thankfully, God's given us a nice comprehensive checklist in the form of 1 Corinthians 13. Let's read it.

1 Corinthians 13New International Version (NIV)

13 If I speak in the tongues[a] of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.

2 f I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.

3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,[b] but do not have love, I gain nothing.

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.

9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part,

10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears.

11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.

12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Footnotes:

1. 1 Corinthians 13:1 Or languages
2. 1 Corinthians 13:3 Some manuscripts body to the flames

Above is a list that will tell you if someone loves you or you love someone else. The above scripture also gives us a pretty decent outline of who God is as a person.

The love we are called to is not mushy gooey thing. It is not a marshmallow feeling. It is not fickle emotion. Love is a set of decisions, actions, and principles all rolled into one concept. It takes discipline and strength to maintain, more than any human can hope to muster on their own. Thankfully God helps us to love as we should, if we ask Him. He knows all about love because He is Love. This is how we're supposed to emulate Jesus.

Many of you have a genetic family member or three in your life who do not try to love.

They may lie about you (Love does not dishonor others),

set you up for trouble (Love always protects, Love is kind),

decide that you don't matter and tell anyone who will listen as much (Love does not dishonor others),

be offended that you don't fit their preconceived prejudices(Love does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered),

rob you (Love is not self-seeking),

seek your harm (Love always protects, Love is kind),

and/or don't tell you that “deserve” to be treated as a human being (Love does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered).

These people may be an embarrassing mention on your pedigree, but they do not act like family if they do not love you. DNA alone does not a family make.

Thankfully, you're not alone. Jesus knows and understands. If you're His, you have another family.

By that same token, if we follow these rules and ask God to help us, we can love the people around us so much more than we can alone. Humanity gets better when we choose to love God's way.

Bible passages taken from the NIV Bible at BibleGateway