Every year at Christmas time there are certain movies my wife and I like to watch. These movies may not necessary be about Christmas (though the movies has Christmas time in it), but they carry a core message about life. One of these movies is, While you were Sleeping with Sandra Bullock. Call me sentimental, but this movie always touches something deep within me. There is a certain quote in the movie that goes like this:

“The truth was that I fell in love with you. Yes, all of you. I went from being all alone to being a fiancee, a daughter, a granddaughter, a sister, and a friend. I may have saved your life that day, but you really saved mine. You let me be a part of your family. I haven’t had that in a really long time.”

Think about that first part for a moment, “I went from being all alone”. God said in the beginning, It’s not good for man to be alone. He knew that being a part of a family brings a sense of belonging, the goodness of fellowship, and a knowing that we are not alone in this world.

familyThis is the main reason why I love Thanksgiving and Christmas time because these holidays are mainly centered around family. There is something good and wholesome at preparing and sharing a meal together or sitting around the table sharing old stories and playing card games.

This past Thanksgiving I had the awesome privilege of having my brother visit us. Because we live so far away from natural family, having my brother with us was super exciting for my immediate family. My kids got to spend time and know more about their Uncle, another relationship found in family.

For some of us the very thought of family relationship brings up all kinds of negative emotions, hurts and pains, but before you start with condescending thoughts and attitudes, hear me out.

The thing I’ve learned about families is they come in all different shapes and sizes. What I mean is, every family has diversity, traditions, and core values. Does that mean each family member is in sync with one another? Well not exactly, reality teaches us that we have differences in the way we see the world and that’s ok. In this life we will not always see eye to eye on things, but its far better than being all alone. Being alone may seem to have it’s advantages, but in the end I don’t think its a healthy way to live life.

Several of the big destroyers of family is bitterness, anger, and resentment. I’ve seen and witness this all too many times in my family relations. These act like a cancer which not only destroys the person, but ends up repelling everyone else away. I mean really, who wants to be around that? Jesus hit the nail on the head when he strictly told his followers to walk in forgiveness and love each other. Not that I’m an expert in forgiveness (I’m still working on it), but it amazes me how some people constantly live in un-forgiveness and wonder why they are alone, miserable and can’t wait to make everyone else around them the same way.

I find it interesting that the really good stuff in life are things which God has set in place. Things like marriage, family and good friends. Despite our bad experiences of these relationships, I know when these are built God’s way they can become some of the most wonderful experiences ever to enjoy. For this reason, it does not surprise me one bit to see God join new believers to his family. When God does something I always see it in the context of family. Say all you want to about Church and the fellowship of believers, but where else can a new follower go to find a sense of belonging, the sweetness of fellowship, and a knowing that they are a part of something bigger than themselves.