When we say that someone is a “family man,” we mean he is a man who is devoted to his wife and children, enjoys spending time with them, and considers his family to be of major importance in his life. Typical characteristics of a family man may include patience, reliability, affection, being a good listener, and being protective. The greatest of all family men, however, is the Lord our God. It is He Who brings together and blesses every family.
Families are made by God. It’s easy to lose sight of this because we don’t see God with our eyes as He groups families together. People can get the sense that families either just happen randomly or that they can be defined and created by society itself. The very first family was created by God: “Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man” (Genesis 2:22) Marriages and families ever since then have been established by God, as Jesus teaches in Matthew 19:6: “Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.” Families are not an accident. They are God’s doing, designed and brought into being by the Lord.
The reason God creates families is so He can have a way through which He can deliver many important blessings to us. God blesses a husband through his wife (Proverbs 31:10-31). He blesses a wife through her husband (Ephesians 5:25). He blesses children through their parents (Genesis 49:28). He blesses parents through their children (Psalm 127:3-5). One could list blessings that God bestows through families, and the list would get very long.
Even those who do not acknowledge God as the source of blessings understand that good things come through families. When people are asked what is most important to them in life, if they do not answer first with “God,” they will answer first with “family,” won’t they?
Sadly, sin can easily get in the way of gifts God wants to give us through our families. We know only too well how evil disrupts and disturbs family life. What family never faces any sort of “family problems”? Sins such as harsh words, stubborn wills, failures to trust, a lack of honesty, and so much more can erect barriers between family members, cause bad feelings, and keep a family from functioning together well, derailing blessings that God so much wants to get through to them.
For this reason, Jesus Christ is a critical member of our families. Jesus is the answer to a family’s sin. His shed blood on the cross cleanses each and every family member. His death is the only answer needed for sin. Anger is not needed. Revenge is not needed. Hard feelings and grudges are not needed. None of these will help dysfunction within a family; rather, they will make it worse. But the blood of Jesus cures this and every ill. Forgiveness from Him robs sin of both its guilt and power.
Stable families are important not only at home, but also at church. In many churches the membership consists of a number of extended families. “So many are related at this church!” an outsider might say. But isn’t that what you would expect? We share the Gospel first with those who are closest to us—husband, wife, and children. Subsequent generations do the same, leaving two, three, or even four generations worshiping together.
So we ask God to protect and bless all families. Not only so there can be peace in the home, but also so His churches may be strengthened and the Gospel have free course.
is a professor at Immanuel Lutheran College in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.