City Life Starter

Written by Efe Abbe

The Word

Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

Genesis 2:18, 21-24 (ESV)

“For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.”

Genesis 18:19

But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

John 1:12-13

And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Acts 2:42-47

But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.

1 Corinthians 12:24-27

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.”

Ephesians 2:19-22

Reflection

We don’t have to read far into the Bible before noticing that God emphasizes family. From the beginning, when God created humans, He desired each of us to flourish in a community, specifically in a family. 

When God saw that Adam was alone, His solution was to give Adam a wife and together they were blessed by God to multiply into a family. 

The idea of family can be a trigger for many of us, so it’s worth taking time to reframe our minds around God’s design for the family. His design for the family from the beginning was for multiplication (Genesis 1:28), steadfast commitment (Genesis 2:24), and active instruction in God’s command to truly be alive (Genesis 2:16-17). According to God’s design, the goodness He intends for us can never be realized in isolation.

Even after humans failed to trust and obey God by sinning, God chose to accomplish His plan for our salvation through a specific family – the family of Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3). All through the Bible, we see God working out His plan of salvation through the lives and stories of different families (think of all those genealogies!) which was no accident because He was to redeem all humanity into a new family. He accomplished this by sending His Son, Jesus who lived as a man, died for our sins, and was raised to life! Now anyone who has placed their trust in Jesus is part of the newly created family of God (2 Corinthians 5:17-18; John 1:12-13).

Application

Belonging to God’s family is a gifted right that comes with responsibilities, just as you would expect in any functional and healthy family. In the same way that we mature from being completely dependent newborns to dependable adults in our families of origin, we are to grow in our commitment to the family of God (1 John 2:12-14). 

Practically this looks like:

• Prioritizing being together at the times our church family has set for gathering for collective worship or in small groups (Acts 2:46, Hebrews 10:25).

• Committing to growing in our family identity by receiving instruction in God’s Word and submitting to the Holy Spirit to being continuously transformed to be like Christ, evidenced by how we lovingly share all that God invests in us with each other and our neighbors (Acts 2: 42-47, Romans 12:1-2, 1 Corinthians 12:24b-27).

• Growing the family by telling others about the generosity of our Father and His indescribable gift of salvation and coming alongside them to grow up as our brothers and sisters (Matthew 28:18-20, 2 Corinthians 5:17-20, Hebrews 10:24-25).

Like in our families of origin, growing in this commitment is a lifelong journey through countless seasons of joy and hardship for which we are wholly dependent on God. Take time today to reflect on the gift of belonging to God’s family and respond to God’s call to fully participate and enjoy being one of his kids.

Prayer

Almighty God and Creator of all, You have lavishly given us the most precious gift of Your Son so that we can be redeemed as Your very own children. Help us to revel in the delight that You shower on us daily, to run towards You amid our gathering together, and be compelled by Your love to call many more to come, see, and also know You as Father.