Family As Favor: Devotional

Have you ever thought about what the world would be like without families—a world without marriage or parenthood or the connections with aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents?

Depending on your current life circumstances, the possibility might even sound a bit appealing. Relationships within our families often present some of life’s greatest challenges. But these relationships also give life much of its sweetness and joy.

Dystopian novels such as Lois Lowry’s The Giver and Aldous Huxley’s A Brave New World portray the dehumanization that occurs in societies where the bonds of family have been broken. Children are raised in sterile environments where their physical needs are met, but without any deep affection or attachment. The beauty of love is sacrificed for the purpose of avoiding love’s complications. And the results are tragic.

Sadly, on a larger scale, we see evidence of this tragedy all around us in our world today. The human family torn apart by conflict, its children destroyed by slavery, famine, and war.

But, as Christians, we have hope in Jesus—who willingly faced every complication and made every sacrifice—for the purpose of restoring us to the family of God.