Spiritual Blessings
3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. 4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. 6 So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. 7 He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. 8 He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.
15 So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” 16 For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. 17 And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.
Recipe for a Family Reunion
In one large venue, mix together Greats, Grands, Middle-Agers, Young Adults, Teens, Children, Toddlers, and Infants.
Sprinkle in a good portion of generational gaps (music preferences, fashion fads, dance trends, hairstyling techniques, and varying opinions on what makes for a great party) and mix until just combined.
Scramble a few cultural variations (different accents, ways of using words, meanings for non-verbal cues, food preferences, and perceptions of time) and stir into the above ingredients.
To enhance flavor, combine basic human differences (personalities, dispositions, preferences, ways of processing information, interests, problem-solving styles, methods of initiating and sustaining relationships, and understandings about how life works) and gently fold into the rest of the mixture.
At agreed upon times, layer above mixture with unifying experiences and activities of various kinds.
Smother with heaping dollops of grace, patience, light-hearted humor and top with a family reunion T-shirt.
Store leftover memories in your heart for a lifetime.
Family reunions are awesome! But anyone who has ever coordinated many "differences" into one big happy party knows they can also be a tricky endeavor.
So why attempt them?
There’s just something about blood…
Interestingly, a church is a lot like a family reunion. It isn’t like a typical gathering of friends who meet only because they enjoy each other and have a lot in common. People from all age groups who have different interests, personalities, life experiences, and personal preferences commit to coming together for only one reason. There’s just something about The Blood.
The reason for the existence of the church has always been to enable and nurture the fulfillment of humanity’s desperate need to both connect and identify with Jesus’ life-giving blood. This allows us to exchange our wounded and broken identities for God’s on-going work of healing and redemption in our lives and experientially discover His purposes for our existence. What flows through our veins is our common denominator. And because our encounter with this life source is such a huge, multi-faceted, life-altering, and miraculously unifying phenomenon, it trumps the need for participants to ever have anything else in common in order to experience a successful and unified gathering.
Fortunately, this kind of success is not dependent on human capabilities, reasoning, and methods. Just like a great family reunion coordinator skillfully crafts activities like ice-breakers, trust-building challenges, slide shows, conversation starters, story exchanges, photo ops, heirloom show-and-tells, and family secret recipe feasts to keep everyone’s focus on what they have in common (and off of harmless differences), the Creator and Coordinator of our own unique version of a family reunion we call The Church, has given us a lot of material to work with. The Bible is a huge recording of the many things we have in common (Sacred Blood being the most important) as well as tips and techniques for experiencing them together as God’s Family.
Further, church gatherings are covered by Jesus’ prayers. “I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one – as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me. I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.” John 17:21 NLT
God created human beings with a need for unity. Without it, we can feel lonely. But there are different types of loneliness. Spiritual loneliness is one of them. When we gather together at church and innocent but inevitable differences start making us feel lonely (or awkward), it’s very OK to risk a deep dive into the great material our Reunion Coordinator has given us – sharing and celebrating what He is doing in each other’s lives and encouraging one another to keep staying as close as possible to Him so His life-giving blood can keep flowing through us. (Hebrews 10:24-25)
"But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God's people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace." (Ephesians 2:13; 2:19-20 and 1:7)
Reflection Questions
If you’ve ever been part of a club for sewing, photography, cooking, reading, an AA group, or cohort of any kind, you know the awesome experience of coming together with all different kinds of people to focus on something you are all interested in. Even those who might not click well in any other setting share a common joy and thrill when individuals acquire new skills and create beautiful and unique projects that emerge from shared conversations and demonstrations. While close friendships can certainly develop from these gatherings, they are not a requirement for the group to have special and fulfilling experiences together.
Family reunions and churches are a lot the same way. Very different people come together to focus on, celebrate, and continue learning about the one thing they all have in common. Even when other types of close friendships develop from these meetings, their connection with the larger group is still beautiful, special, and satisfying.
Paul talks about this in his letters.
"For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus." Galatians 3:26-28
"There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work." 1 Corinthians 12:5-6
"Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret?" 1 Corinthians 12:29-30
"This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus." Ephesians 3:6
Paul isn’t saying there are no differences here, as if they should all be erased so everyone can get along and feel comfortable. (As long as the differences aren’t moral, ethical, or legal Ephesians 5:3-7.) He even recognizes that some might more naturally click in close friendships, or work better together (Paul’s relationships were no different). But he does express that there is a miraculous beauty and unity that comes from recognizing that God has made it possible for so many very different people to solidly unite around one grounding thing. This one thing tears down any potential walls of hostility differences could create when not viewed as covered by the blood of Jesus, and crafted into the beautiful gems and blessings God designed them to be (through the life-giving source that flows through our veins).
"His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility." Ephesians 2:15-16.
"...But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit." 1 Corninthians 12:13
Our reflection questions come from these verses.
1. How are close friendship group gatherings different from family, interest club, or church gatherings?
2. How can viewing the concept of “church” as a family rather than a close friendship group prevent and/or ease potential awkwardness and frustration between brothers and sisters in Christ?
3. What are some specific faith-based conversation starters/topics, or questions I can keep in my back pocket for gatherings with brothers and sisters in Christ?