WE ARE FAMILY. Many congregations of various denominations refer to one another as “brother and sister so and so” even though they are not biologically related. Is this term not antiquated or out of date? Why the term brother and sister?
We are living in very challenging and stressful times in which possession, money, and wealth matter to all. However, if not careful, the pursuit of wealth will pull us away from what really matters, which is our relationship with God and one another.
Satan uses the things of this world to tempt and lure us to him. However, the Word of God provides us with the guidance needed to avoid his trap. In the Bible, God provides practical guidance on how to live above the stresses of life, and he provides instructions on how to manage the possessions we have been given. The Bible helps us learn to prioritize what really matters.
In this series, we explore what the Bible says about earning money, and obtaining wealth. From a biblical perspective, we will also look at how to manage effectively what we have while prioritizing what really matters.
Review any of our previous lessons @ SabbathSchoolDaily.com. Also, you can obtain the study guide to these lessons @ Sabbath.School or ssnet.org
Asking For God’s Guidance
Holy Father, thank you for taking us into your family. Teach us how to love and care for each member of the family with compassion, understanding, and love. In Jesus the Name Amen
Early in His work on earth, Jesus, speaking to a crowd of people offered a model for prayer, he started with the following phrase found in Mathew 6:9.
9 In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. (Matthew 6:9)
Again, in Luke 11:2, Jesus repeats this same model prayer, privately to His disciples (his followers). Jesus told them to call His Father, “Our Father in heaven.”
Furthermore, when Jesus woke up from the dead, after being executed on the cross, in his encounter with Mary, when she wanted to hug Him, according to John 20:17
“Jesus said to her, ‘Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, “I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God” ’ ” (John 20:17, NKJV).
Did you notice that in Jesus’ Model Prayer and in his encounter with Mary he refers to God as Our Father? In other words, Jesus sees us as His family.
When we accept Jesus, we become his brothers and sisters. Jesus is our brother, and God is our Father. Everyone that accepts Jesus is our brother or sister.
Thus, we acknowledge them as a member of the Family of God by calling them brother or sister, so and so.
It is no wonder Paul says in Ephesians 3:14-15
14 For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
15 from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, (Ephesians 3:14-15)
We are family! Jesus is our Brother. We also are brothers and sisters.
Jesus became a member of the human family on earth so that we can become members of God’s family in heaven. This means, “The family of heaven and the family of earth are one family.” —Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, page 835
Despite the popular belief of society today, the Bible is not antiquated or out of date. God called the Israelites his children, and he still calls us his children today. The following scriptures reveal how God saw our fore-parents (or ancestors) and how He sees us today.
Exodus 3:10
10 Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” (Exodus 3:10)
Exodus 5:1
1 Afterward Moses and Aaron went in and told Pharaoh, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘Let My people go, that they may hold a feast to Me in the wilderness.’ ” (Exodus 5:1)
Galatians 3:26
26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:26)
Galatians 3:29
29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. (Galatians 3:29)
Modern science teaches us that we are here only by chance. It tells us that we are here by accident. We are products of cold, uncaring natural laws. It’s no wonder people do not value the lives of others.
Contrary to popular science though, the Bible teaches us, God, not only exists but that we were no accident. God created us. God loves us and cares about us.
To show us how much He loves us, The Bible writers, inspired by God, often use the imagery of family to describe the relationship between God and us.
That’s why Jesus called Ancient Israel “My people” and he refers to us as the “sons of God.” Meaning sons and daughters of God. Moreover, Jesus also says that God is “our Father.”
What does this tell us?
God loves us the way family members are to love one another. Now, ain’t that good news for us, especially considering that life can be very difficult and hard at times? (Split)
When we accept Jesus, we join a huge family in which God becomes Our Father, and Jesus becomes our Elder Brother. How much better would the world be if we treated each other like God intended?
For we are all children of God by faith in Christ Jesus, according to Galatians 3:26-28
26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:26-28)
The secret of unity is found in the equality of believers in Christ. The reason for all division, discord, and difference is found in separation from Christ. Christ is the center to which all should be attracted; for the nearer we approach the center, the closer we shall come together in feeling, in sympathy, in love, growing into the character and image of Jesus. With God there is no respect of persons.—That I May Know Him, p. 99.
We are Family. We are part of God’s Family.
As a member of God’s family, what should be our attitude toward what we own and acquire? Find out on Day 3: God is the Owner of Everything
Watch Past and Present Lessons @ SabbathSchoolDaily.com
