Family Ties

As we grow older, we become acutely aware of the meaning and importance of family ties. When we were young, we took them for granted, perhaps, sometimes not really appreciating them at all. We desired to be on our own, doing our own thing in our own name. But slowly, the realization sets in that you are from somewhere and that you are associated with your roots and that makes an indelible mark on who you really are.

         I want us to think about Communion in these terms. This is why we look around. We are learning the faces of our family. No doubt, some of us take some of them for granted. We look around but do not really see them. We may forget who is here from week to week. We may think we do not really need them, that we are self-contained. But as we grow older and grow up, we realize that these really are our people and the need to identify with them becomes an integral aspect of who we really are. Your natural family roots are real and ought to be cultivated and appreciated. But you have been adopted into God’s family and these are your brothers and sisters in Christ, the friend who is even closer than a brother. You will spend eternity with them and so we are growing up into the maturity of our need for one another.