Who are we?
I love the way God has designed his world into different times and seasons – days, months, years – spring, summer, autumn, winter etc. Why is this? One of the reasons I think is because it gives us a constant sense of progression i.e. things are moving on, changing, developing, growing. There is always the possibility of a new start, a fresh impetus, reconciliation where necessary, goals reviewed and decisions made.
It’s not that any of this can’t be done at any time. Of course it can. Its just that these built in seasons of time help with the process of thinking about what is most important, where are lives are at, and what adjustments we can make to move on in the things God has for us.
In doing all this over the Christmas and New Year period in relation to us as a group of people, I have found myself coming back to focus on the fundamentals of who we are – not who we want to be, or who we think we ought to be – but what is in our very DNA by the Holy Spirit that will always determine our characteristics and behaviour.
What it boils down to is these two things: family and mission.
We are family
God in his eternal nature is first and foremast ‘Father’. The relationship in the God-head is described in familial terms – “The Father and the Son”. The creation of humanity was just an extension of the family. Adam was God’s son. When we are born again, we become children of God, brothers and sisters together in His family. There is not space here to develop this theme in depth, suffice to say that the whole Bible story, Old and New Testaments, is about the issue of God raising a family that would rightly reflect him to the world, and share his glory through all eternity. Our identity, our life together, must therefore be built upon the reality that we are family – we belong to one another, not out of choice, but by God’s design. Our relationships therefore are not based upon mutual convenience, or superficial friendship, but a deep commitment to lay down our lives for each other’s good, regardless of cost to ourselves. This is true family life from the Father’s perspective.
We’re on a mission… to follow shortly
It’s not that any of this can’t be done at any time. Of course it can. Its just that these built in seasons of time help with the process of thinking about what is most important, where are lives are at, and what adjustments we can make to move on in the things God has for us.
In doing all this over the Christmas and New Year period in relation to us as a group of people, I have found myself coming back to focus on the fundamentals of who we are – not who we want to be, or who we think we ought to be – but what is in our very DNA by the Holy Spirit that will always determine our characteristics and behaviour.
What it boils down to is these two things: family and mission.
We are family
God in his eternal nature is first and foremast ‘Father’. The relationship in the God-head is described in familial terms – “The Father and the Son”. The creation of humanity was just an extension of the family. Adam was God’s son. When we are born again, we become children of God, brothers and sisters together in His family. There is not space here to develop this theme in depth, suffice to say that the whole Bible story, Old and New Testaments, is about the issue of God raising a family that would rightly reflect him to the world, and share his glory through all eternity. Our identity, our life together, must therefore be built upon the reality that we are family – we belong to one another, not out of choice, but by God’s design. Our relationships therefore are not based upon mutual convenience, or superficial friendship, but a deep commitment to lay down our lives for each other’s good, regardless of cost to ourselves. This is true family life from the Father’s perspective.
We’re on a mission… to follow shortly
posted by Nick at
12:14 pm
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