At the very beginning God invented
families. When he created humans, his dream
was that we would live in peace with Him and
each other. However, Adam and Eve disobeyed
God and as a result of this, family life isn’t
as easy as it was intended to be.
Families haven’t been easy from the
beginning. Adam and Eve’s son Cain murdered
his brother Abel in a jealous rage (Genesis
4), Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers
(Genesis 37), King David’s son tried
to betray him (2 Samuel 15). Even Jesus’
brothers doubted him (John 7). However, despite
all these difficult family situations, God
didn’t make a mistake when he designed
families.
The Bible contains a lot of advice on how
to live as part of a family. One of God’s
Ten Commandments is ‘honour your father
and mother’ (Exodus 20:12) and Paul
talks about how family life should be (Ephesians
5 & 6). Above all, God says that families
should be places where we are loved and love,
and where we respect and support each other.
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Everyone is part of a family in one way or
another. Maybe you live in a ‘nuclear
family’ – a mum, dad and two kids.
Maybe you only live with one parent. Or maybe
you have two sets of parents. Maybe you you’re
an only child or have tons of brother and
sisters.
Maybe you’re the only one in your family
who is a Christian.
Whatever our families look like, God still
wants us to fee loved and supported. As we’ve
seen, living in a family can be tough. There
will be arguments, disagreements and disappointments.
The important thing is always to remember
that love should be the centre of any family.
As a Christian, it may mean that you should
make an effort to show that love. This may
be as simple as doing the washing up, or tidying
your room. It may mean that you spend time
listening to other people and trying to understand
where they are coming from. It definitely
means that you should pray for your families
and follow what God tells us in the Bible.
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Sometimes, we don’t feel loved and supported
by our families. If you are being hurt, neglected
or used by a member of your family, or are
finding a change in the family difficult to
cope with, you should do something about it.
Check out what the Bible says, pray, talk
to your youth leader and get someone to pray
with you.
