05 01 07 Family One-ness

“Father, if You are willing, take this cup away from Me. Yet not My will, but Yours be done.” (Luke 22:42)

We are all very familiar with this passage, as Jesus pondered His future, expecting the suffering about to take place. It impacts me every time I read it, because Jesus went to the cross knowing the pain He was going to suffer! I wonder what life would be like if we could just endure a little more uneasiness and yes, maybe a little more pain for the sake of others, especially for our families’ sake!

Last evening I woke up from a dream of a father and son violently arguing on a neighborhood street corner, physically and verbally going at it. For some reason, in the dream, I came out of my house talking loudly above their voices, telling them this was not how the Father intended for a father and son to get along. I even remember sharing about Christ and His heavenly Father and our relationship to Him. To my joy, the father and son in my dream calmed down and prayed with me to receive Christ as did a few who were listening in the gathering group of people. I only wish this dream to come true in more than one family, as I am sure you do too!

“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:10)

God has had it on His mind that everyone be saved from the grasp of hell and for this reason Jesus came down from His royal position at the right hand of the Father to save each of us ( John 3:16). The Holy Spirit seals every believer for the Father as we ask Him to forgive our sin and repent. From the beginning, there was unity within the Trinity ---family oneness.

“I can do nothing on My own initiative. Just as I hear, I judge, and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of the One who sent Me.” (John 5:30)

The Son obeyed the Father. The Father was consistent throughout His relationship. Jesus sought to please His Father. Many of us today believe it’s our daddy’s fault for everything; our education, our personality, our relationships, you name it. Perhaps we may have a little responsibility too! Even if Dad wasn’t around God was! Has He become so personal to us that we can lovingly call Him DADDY? Do we seek to please Him in all we do? Do we seek oneness with Him?

“The glory You gave to Me I have given to them, that they may be one just as we are one---I in them and You in Me---that they may be completely one, so that the world will know that You sent Me, and You have loved them just as You have loved Me.” (John 17:22-23)

The good news is that despite our family situation, we have hope! We may be in a single-parent home; our father may have neglected or abused us, we may not even know our father or mother for that matter. Nevertheless, Jesus had us in mind just before the cross. He prayed that all believers would one day be one, just as He and His Father are one. That’s family oneness. What can we do to improve the oneness of not just our family, but the church family as well? It begins with my relationship with the Father! We all must be under His will, not mine! Then real family one-ness can begin.