I’m almost finished with all the preparations for the family gatherings – both sides of the family always come to our house at Christmas because we have a little more room. Funny how two sides of the same family can be so different! Lots of cousins your age on one side, hardly any on the other. Almost everybody lives in the same town on one side of the family, while the other side comes from all over and actually spends the night at your house (or “nights” I should say)!
There are some things they have in common though – it’s the same casseroles and turkey for both sides, and for the most part laughter and fun and games will happen at both get-togethers. One glaring difference this year in our family is that we’ve lost both of my husband’s parents since last Christmas. Thanksgiving wasn’t quite the same without our Granny and Pepa, and Christmas will be different, too.
I know you are busy preparing for your family get-togethers and I also know it is not always easy. We all have brothers, we all have sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents. And especially parents. And we don’t always agree on home schooling. On next year’s elections. On what makes a good Christmas gift and what doesn’t. Or topics like movies, books, even games – some are great in our eyes and some aren’t. Family members don’t often think of it like we do.
We’re not better than them. We’re not smarter. We’re not loved by God any more than they are.
Last Sunday our pastor’s sermon was titled “How Jesus Evangelized His Family.” It was great. It was also a stress-reliever. It gave me less to do this busy Christmas season. Having my eyes opened to how Jesus did it gave me a pattern to follow!
I took detailed notes throughout his message because I knew I wanted to share it with you.
But Monday morning hit me as usual and I enjoyed my coffee a little longer than I meant to, plus I was blessed by my husband reading me a chapter of Galatians that he’s reading through and then taking the time to pray with me. I ended up just grabbing my purse and computer as I hurried out of the house with two of my kiddos a few minutes early so we’d have time to stop and get their co-op teachers small Christmas gifts.
I left my ever-present notebook (yes, I still keep a hard copy to-do list!) on the kitchen counter. So I’m going to share the gist of the sermon – the parts that stand out in my memory because they are the parts I knew would change my get-togethers and yours, too!
We know Jesus had parents, four brothers and at least two sisters. We also know that they didn’t always believe Him to be the son of God. They may have seen Him as different, but really they thought of Him as just one of them. John 7:5 tells us “neither did His brethren believe in Him.”
In John 7:3, they, having seen at least his first miracle at Cana, encouraged him to go up to Jerusalem and “show off” what he could do. He didn’t debate his Messiahship, but He told them His “time was not yet come.” It was a feast time, so the brothers went on up to Jerusalem. Jesus followed soon after, but he chose to go to Jerusalem in God’s timing, not his brothers’ timing. He knew it wasn’t His job to glorify Himself, that God would do that.
We don’t have to “prove” God to our families. We are to do the will of God with a quiet and gentle spirit. Sometimes we think something like “We’re going to be together, I’ve got to say something, I’ve got to stand up for Jesus.” Jesus lived a consistent and faithful life before His family, and that’s just what we should do. Jesus did everything to please his Father. If we’d do the same – simply live a holy life before God – that would be the best thing we could do in front of our extended families.
Additionally, Jesus didn’t apologize or skirt around the fact that He was different from them. (John 7:6). We need to accept the fact that we are different. Let them drink their kind of eggnog and you drink yours. We don’t have to blend in – the lines of distinction are being blurred. We are called to be set apart, to be holy.
The great news is that later (in Acts 1) we see that Jesus’ mother and brothers (and possibly sisters) were in the Upper Room after Jesus’ ascension – and this time they are believers! What made the change? It wasn’t Jesus’ own defense of Himself (because He didn’t do that!), it was simply God’s resurrection power!
Jesus let his Father bring about the “proof” by resurrecting Him from the dead! God brings the proof – we don’t have to do it. That’s one thing on your to-do list that you’re not even responsible for; so scratch that off!
We can have this same kind of “resurrection power” shown in our lives, but how?
Here are some ways my pastor pointed out on Sunday:
Moms cherishing their kids more than careers.
Moms not gossiping with others.
Pure young adults.
Fathers that serve their wives and families.
Families that don’t show themselves as being “better than” other family members.
Our family members can see these visible evidences of God’s power in our lives. And while they may mock, question, or ridicule at times, when they’re alone the Holy Spirit will convict them because they know they don’t have what you have.
So we can relax! The only job we’ve been given to do is to obey Him! Perhaps that’s a little easier said than done. But at least we don’t have to stress over things we should “do” – Jesus gave us permission, by His own example, to love our families just as they are while we live our own life in sync with God’s will for us, and let our all-knowing Father bring about the proof of who He is in His own way and time!
Merry Christmas to your family from ours!
May each day bring you closer together and closer to the Lord of All, whose birth we’re all celebrating!
