What Kind of Family Are We?

I am 25 years old and my mother still corrects me quite often. If I do something that doesn't look right or could be taken in a less than flattering way she lets me know very quickly. After living a quarter of a century she still worries about my reputation. The reason she still cares about such things is that I am a reflection on her. Even though I'm an adult she knows that I will always be a McKinley no matter what. My decisions, whether made at 10, 15, 25, or 50 years old, will be traced back to the way she raised me. She takes ownership for who I am, and that is why she doesn't hesitate to lovingly correct me when I am wrong. It is also the reason that she has always tried to be an example of Godliness in my life. She lived by example the kind of life she wanted me to lead.

What if this was the way we approached our relationships in the church? As a young woman, I can only name a few people in my entire life who were an example of Godliness for me. I can think back on times where adults in church criticized young people for the way the dressed or acted or talked, but I can't really remember too many times where they took on the role of mentor and lovingly corrected the young people as a concerned parent would. What if we began to look at the young people in our churches the way my mother looks at me? What if we realized that they are a reflection on us? I don't mean that to say that we have to be unnecessarily harsh on them because they may make us look bad, I mean that we need to take ownership in the type of people they become. How many baby dedications have we sat through vowing to help bring the child up in the ways of the Lord, and then we sit back and criticize who they become?

If we are to be the family of God, then we have a lot of work to do. Where are the grandmothers who provide unconditional love? Where are the fathers and mothers who offer loving correction? Where are the aunts and uncles to give a hand when one is needed? I know it seems that I'm picking on the adults of the church, but that is not my intent. My intention is to point out that if we really intend on filling our churches with lost people then we have to be prepared for people who really don't know how to behave in a church setting and probably don't know how to act even after they have come to the Lord. When our churches are flooded with (physically AND spiritually) young people, we have to be the family they need and offer love and support.

I know this is an odd blog for Christmas day, but I can't help but think about family during the holidays.
The truth is that if we were to judge all Christians on some churches we see we would be left with the notion that it is a some what dysfunctional family. We find people who only deal with each other during times of crisis and even then their speech is harsh towards one another. We often find back stabbing and fighting. We find men and women who put their needs and wants and desires to be seen above what is best for the family. Mind you, most churches are not like this. Most Christians are not like this, but at the end of this year I invite you to examine yourself and ask what kind of family member were you this year? Did you reach out to your brothers and sisters at all times? Were you loving and honest with fellow Christians? Did you put what was best for the church at the top of your priority list? Please join me in prayer for this next year that we would become the family God intended us to be.