Loving the Family of God

Series:  Loving Jesus, Loving His Church 8/14/11 Interestingly, “family” is one of the primary metaphors that God uses in speaking of His church.  We are repeatedly called “children of God” a term that refers to the fact that by virtue of our relationship with God the Father, we have become related to one another.  Another term that signifies a familial relationship is the “Household of God” or “Household of faith” which is used to describe the church on several occasions in the New Testament (Eph 2:19-22, 1 Tim. 3:14-15; 5:2, Heb 10:21, 1 Pet. 4:17).  Other terms such as “brotherhood” (1 Peter 2:17), brothers or sisters are used to describe the relationship of believers one with another. God wants His children to learn to get along with each other, to love each other. If you are a parent, you want your kids to get along with each other. God does, too. He wants it so much that He says that loving each other is tantamount, or equal in seriousness, to loving Him. It easy to say in an abstract sense “I love the church,” but when it gets down to a specific group of believers to whom we are relationally attached, and with whom we interact week in week out, known as the local church, it is more difficult, because love now has to be lived out in tangible, concrete ways even in the face of challenges and difficulty. .