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July 2025

Jul 25 2025
Love0

GOD’S PLAN HAS ALWAYS BEEN FAMILY

By Christian Writing No Comments

The man [Adam] called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. (Genesis 3:20)

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. Beloved, we are God’s children now… (1 John 3:1-2a)

God’s plan has always been “Family”: the family of humankind and the family of God, both loved by God.

The family of humankind begins with God’s creation of Adam and Eve, who married, told to “be fruitful and multiply,” and had many children together. (Genesis 1:27-28; 2:21-24; 5:1-5) The family of humankind has been growing ever since because we all share the same original ancestors and, thus, are part of one family tree “planted” by our Creator. (Ephesians 3:14-15)

The family of God, unlike the family of humankind, has no beginning because the one eternal, unchanging God has always lived in the family love of three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. (Psalm 90:2; Matthew 28:19; John 1:1, 14; 10:30; 2 Corinthians 3:17; 1 John 4:8, 19)

God revealed the importance of the family of humankind by His commands in the Old Testament that all people honor their father and their mother, that spouses honor and uphold the covenant of marriage, and that parents train their children in righteousness. (Exodus 20:12; Proverbs 18:22; 22:6; 31:10-31; Malachi 2:13-16)

The New Testament affirms this importance. (Matthew 19:4-6, 14; Ephesians 5:22–6:4; 1 Timothy 5:8; Hebrews 13:4) And the New Testament goes beyond that affirmation to reveal the wonderful truth of why God treasures the family of humankind so much. God’s plan has always been to use the family of humankind, made in His image and likeness, to grow the family of God!

God sent His Son so Jesus could be the firstborn of many brothers and sisters. (John 3:16; Romans 8:29) By trusting Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we receive the Holy Spirit and become in that moment (“now”) children of God who share the same Father with Jesus because we are born again, born of the Spirit, and born of God. (John 1:12-13; 3:3-8; Romans 8:15-17) We remain in the world but are no longer of the world. (John 17:11, 14-16)

To understand the importance of these biblical revelations about family, remember what happened to the family of humankind after we became separated by God through sin. Woman will continue to desire her husband, but he will lord it over her. (Genesis 3:16) Brother will kill brother. (Genesis 4:8) Joseph’s jealous brothers will sell him into slavery. (Genesis 37:28) King David’s son Amnon will rape his sister and be killed by his brother Absalom, who will then rebel against his father. (2 Samuel 13; 16) And the list goes on.

The most instructive story about this sin-separated family of humankind may be the Tower of Babel. (Genesis 11:1-9) God had commanded Noah and his sons to be fruitful, multiply, and disperse over the earth, just as God instructed Adam and Eve, but under the leadership of the “mighty man” Nimrod, the “children of man” decided to defy that command and stay together in one place, building a city and tower that reached to the heavens so they could make a name for “themselves.” (Genesis 9:1, 7; 10:8-12; 11:4-5) To prevent this rebellion and enforce His command, God confused their language, effectively dispersing them and creating the ethnic and cultural diversity and divisiveness we have today.

God’s plan, however, was never permanent division. Revelation 7:9-10 describes a great multitude from every nation, culture, ethnicity, and language who have come together through Christ into the family of God. Here there is neither Jew nor Gentile, male nor female, slave nor free, because as Christians we are God’s family – “… a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession …” (Galatians 3:28; 1 Peter 2:9-10)

The sin-separated family of humankind has throughout history shown itself to be arrogant, selfish, divisive, greedy, lustful, idolatrous, easily angered, brutal, and/or untruthful. (Galatians 5:19-21; 2 Timothy 3:1-5) The family of God is defined by the Golden Rule (my last column) and the agape love of 1 Corinthians 13 – patient and kind; never envious, boasting, arrogant, or rude; never irritable, resentful, or insisting on their own way; never rejoicing in wrongdoing and always rejoicing in truth, which must be spoken in love. (Ephesians 4:15)

The sin-separated family of humankind will come to an end, but the family of God is wondrously everlasting. So, which family best describes your family of origin? Your present family? Your family of faith? Your city and region? Your nation? Your role in each of those? God wants us all in His family. (1 John 2:2; 1 Timothy 2:3-6; 2 Peter 3:9)

God bless you, and God bless our community.

Jul 09 2025
Love0

THE GOLDEN RULE IS NOT OPTIONAL

By Christian Writing No Comments

Therefore, however you want people to treat you, so treat them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. (Matthew 7:12 NAS)

We like options. They give us the freedom to choose based upon our personal preferences. In a restaurant, I might choose to have the French fries option with my cheeseburger while you choose the baked potato. I might choose a white SUV with cloth upholstery while you choose a red SUV and leather. And when attendance is optional for an event, you might choose to go while I choose to stay home.

Even within our Christian faith, we have many options. You may choose a traditional worship service while I choose contemporary. You may choose the NIV or KJV Bible translation while I choose the ESV. We have denominational options, liturgy options, favorite author and podcast options, and the list goes on.

There are, however, matters of Christian faith that are not optional. Foremost among these is the command of our Lord we call the Golden Rule. (Matthew 7:12; Luke 6:31)

When I was a child, the Golden Rule was a constant point of emphasis. I memorized it this way: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Even then, it was a scripture verse I could easily understand. I want people to be nice to me, so I should be nice to them.

Now, after sixty-five more years of life and over thirty years of full-time ministry, this simple verse from my childhood has proved itself to be the fundamental requirement for Christian living on earth. Please let me explain.

Jesus tells us that the Golden Rule “is the Law and the Prophets.” The only other time Jesus makes such a statement is when He explains that all the Law and the Prophets are based upon the Great Commandment: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind,” and “love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:36-40) The Golden Rule and the Great Commandment are, therefore, intimately connected to each other.

Although we often think of worship when we speak of loving God, the Lord says the people who “have and obey” His commandments are the ones who love Him. (John 14:21-23) What is the most important command we must obey? Loving others! (John 13:34-35) This fulfills all the law and covers a multitude of sins. (Galatians 5:14; James 2:8; 1 Peter 4:8) And, to drive this point even deeper, if you do not love others, you do not know God and cannot love God. (1 John 4:7-8, 20-21)

Otherwise put, one of the best ways to love God is to love your neighbor, not just with lip service but in truth and deed. (1 John 3:18) The Golden Rule tells us a profoundly simple way to do that – treat them like you want to be treated. And just as the Golden Rule is not optional, your understanding of who your neighbors are is not optional. The parable of the Good Samaritan makes it clear that family, friends, strangers, and enemies are all neighbors. (Luke 10:29-36; Matthew 5:43-48) In fact, Luke’s rendition of the Golden Rule comes immediately after the Lord’s commands that we love, bless, and pray for our enemies. (Luke 6:27-31)

There is no need to ask how well the world is following the Golden Rule. Over two-thirds of them are not trying to follow Jesus. But how well are we Christians doing?

In my opinion, far too many Christians in our nation believe they can satisfy God by a profession of faith, right doctrine, church attendance/offerings, and correct political views. But 1 Corinthians 13 makes it clear: those efforts may be good, but without love, they mean nothing.

Jesus concludes His Sermon on the Mount with a parable contrasting the wise and the foolish, and He says something I find frightening: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 7:21-27)

At the time He spoke, Jesus focused on people who prophesied, cast out demons, and did mighty works in His name. But because they still did not do the will of God, Jesus “never knew” them. What if those people spoke today about the political rallies they attended and the political leaders they earnestly supported in the expression of their Christian faith? One group focused on pro-life and traditional marriage and gender issues while the other focused on the rights of people of color, women, and other marginalized groups.

Then Jesus said, “Fine, but did you love the people who did not agree with you? How did you treat them? Did you obey the Golden Rule?”

We must speak the truth in love. (Ephesians 4:15) Faith works through love. (Galatians 5:6) The Golden Rule is not optional for any of us.

God bless you, and God bless our community.

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