The past couple of weeks we have been talking about the reason for the season.
The reason for the season is Jesus! At the core, Jesus is what Christmas is all about. He was the gift that God gave to the entire world. It is important that we take time to focus on the true meaning of Christmas.
With that said, if there is a secondary reason for what Christmas is all about, I would say that it would be family. Christmas is about Jesus first, and Christmas is also about family! It is a time in which we come together with close and extended family in order to spend time with one another.
Family is important to God
One of the things that learn from the Nativity story is that family is important to God. He had a plan to redeem all of mankind back to Himself through the sacrificial death of His only son, Jesus. God could have sent Jesus to this earth any way He wanted. Yet, He chose to do it through the family unit. Family is not man-made. Instead, it was instituted by God Himself. He kept the family unit in tact when He sent Jesus to the world as a child born into the world. God knew what He was doing. This was His way of showing us that family is important.
Family should be important to us as well. In fact, there are three lessons that I believe the Christmas story teaches about family. We will discover them by looking at three aspects of family found in the story of Christmas.
1. Family Provides
The first thing we see is that family provides a place to belong. We see this within the genealogy of Jesus.
Matthew 1:17 - “So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David until the captivity in Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the captivity in Babylon until the Christ are fourteen generations.”
Now between the generations of Abraham, David, and Jesus, we find all types of people. There were heroes and there were zeroes. There was royalty and refugees. There leaders and there were followers, rich and poor, citizens and foreigners, saviors and murderers, humble and proud, liars, cheaters, thieves, etc.
Nevertheless, regardless of their past and their reputation, they all had a place within the family of Christ. When we come across some of the names that are listed in Christ’s genealogy, it is hard not to think about what they did and what they had been known for. However, they are still listed within the family of Jesus.
This is important, because no matter who it is, everyone in your family should have a place to belong. That includes the people in your family that you don’t get along with. If they can be included in the family of God, there should be room made in your family as well. It is all to easy to make those we don’t like in our family feel like they don’t belong. In fact, there may be some people in your family that might do that. However, as born again believers, we should be the ones extending grace to others.
2. Family Protects
We also see that family protects. God the Father could have sent Jesus to this world in any way that He wanted to. Yet, He chose to send Him as a baby born to a family. He was born to His mother Mary and His earthly father Joseph. While Jesus came to be a blessing to the world, the world was out to kill Jesus. However, God purposefully placed Him into a family knowing that Jesus would be well taken care of.
Matthew 2:13-14
“13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” 14 And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt”
While Joseph and Mary did many things for Jesus, I would dare to say that none were as important than what they did to protect Him. They followed God’s direct instructions and they kept Him out of harms way. It’s because that is what family does, it protects.
Family is one of God’s natural umbrellas of His protection. When we are born and placed in a family, we are in a place of safety. Family is meant to protect
our:
Faith
Integrity
Future
Therefore, just as Joseph and Mary protected Jesus, let us protect one another and those within our family. Don’t expose your brothers and sisters.
Don’t expose your family members. Instead, protect them.
3. Family Perseveres
Family perseveres through thick and thin. In other words, family does not give up on one another. I am so thankful that Mary and Joseph never gave up on each other. I am so glad that they never gave up on raising Jesus. I am even more thankful that Jesus never gave up on us. Jesus was faithful and persevered with us all the way to the end.
Ephesians 4:1-2
“I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love” Family is not about me and its not about others; it is about “us.” In order for me and you to come together, there is going to have to be some understanding between us. It means that we will need to:
• Humble - We will need to humble ourselves. We don’t need to make everything about ourselves. Instead, consider others before ourselves.
• Gentle - Let us be kind toward others. Let us not be harsh in how we treat our children, siblings, or those who are hard to be around.
• Patient - We must be patient with one another. Don’t be quick to get upset with those who bother you the most. Show them grace. Give them room to make mistakes. That is is how you would want to be treated. Therefore, let us be understanding of those in our family and of one another here in our church family. That is what family is about.
Takeaways:
As we gather together with our family this Christmas, let us remember to:
I. Invest in Family
• Family is important to God
• Family should be important to us
• Invest in family relationships
• God aļ¬rmed the family unit when He sent Jesus to be born to
• Build broken bridges
• Every person deserves to have a place in your family
II. Pray for your family
• The greatest way we can protect our family is by praying for them
• When we pray for our family we are invoking God’s hand of deliverance and protection
• The greatest thing we must protect our family from is a Christ-less eternity
III. Be patient with your family
• If God can patient with us, we should be patient with one another
• Be patient with your family, especially those you struggle to get along with
• Show them grace and give them room to make mistakes
