For us, growing our definition of what family is has been something that God has called us to do in a very literal sense. We have been foster parents for the past four years and have had the privilege of being the safe place for several children to live, heal, and, for some, even become our forever children. As foster and adoptive parents, I’ve had the chance to better see God’s heart for every child. He loves them all passionately, no matter what their background. He places the lonely into families, and it is able to create life out of the darkness that plagues our world. He also loves the parents of children that we have made part of our family and will never stop pursuing their hearts as long as they are here on Earth. We have seen grace meet tragedy, loss, addiction, and heartbreak. The result is beauty, even though this is not how it ever should have been.
If we all step back and make the choice to draw bigger lines for who our family can be and is, the whole world becomes a better place. God calls us his children. That means, as believers, we all are brothers and sisters in Christ. It’s easy to say that in passing, but so much harder to live it out in the day-to-day. Family is messy. It’s a lifelong commitment. You also don’t get to choose your family. I think these facts are also true when it comes to being the body of Christ. The church is a messy place; we have to stay committed to each other, and we don’t get to choose who joins the club. We love people just as they are.
Foster care and adoption is not the only way we can draw outside the lines when it comes to family. Embracing friends, co-workers, neighbors, and more as a part of your tribe is a way to share the love of God in a way that changes this world for the better. We are made to be together, but our world has
become increasingly isolated and lonely. When we make a choice that a friend, a neighbor, a vulnerable family, or a coworker is worth loving in the same way Jesu
s loves us, we start to create bonds that build us up and keep us from getting dragged into the dark.
1 Corinthians 12:27 puts it this way, “All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.” Each person plays a vital role in working together with others who know Jesus around them. When we embrace our God-given purpose, we get to be Jesus to others here on earth. What an astounding thought that when I see my fellow worshipers raising their hands beside me at church, I am seeing part of Jesus at work in the world! Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can bring light into the darkness. We can stop the powers of death on chaos by confidently being ourselves and choosing to love the people around us beyond what is considered reasonable.
