Standing Firm in Faith for a “Whole” Life: Part 8 – Friends and Family

I write this blog as my suitcase sits impatiently waiting to be filled with the clothes and items that will accompany me on my flight tomorrow. I am off to join family members for the inurnment of my dad’s ashes and stay for a bit of a visit.

It is also the week that many of us will celebrate Canada Day or Independence Day with friends, food and fireworks.

Our topic of friends and family, with all its complexity, is front and center in my real-world life. Perhaps you can relate. We know Jesus can.

Jesus and Family

Jesus was born into a human family. In his unique, blended family circumstances, he was surrounded by a mother, stepdad, stepsiblings, and cousins. He also chose to walk and minister with friends, at least one of whom was also a relative.

Jesus and Friends

Three friends appeared to walk more closely with Jesus than others: Peter, James, and John. Jesus travelled with them, ministered alongside them, invited them to his mountaintop transfiguration, and called on them to pray with him in his time of deep distress.

Jesus lived and ministered in relationship when he could have chosen independence.

Jesus is Trinity

Even as God, Jesus is Trinity. Three-in-one. He is never alone, not even as deity. Jesus models community and interdependence as the Son of God.

We’re given that image of familial relationship with the Father, and the mystery of relationship with the Spirit. Ancient theologians used the metaphor of a trinitarian dance, a perichoresis, to describe the one essence but three separate identities and dynamic relationships amidst the Father, Son, and Spirit.

You and Me

What does Jesus’ human and divine model powerfully impress on us? It certainly suggests that we were made for community–that we were created to thrive amidst family and friends.

Can that be challenging? Oh yes! You know it and so do I. Yet we carry on because you need others and others need you.

Jesus shows us the way. So do the many biblical men and women whose stories were inextricably woven through one another.

A Story of Two Friends

Luke recounted the tales of two women, both expecting their first child (Luke1). Elizabeth and Mary were experiencing extraordinary pregnancies, in similar but different ways. Elizabeth’s unexpected pregnancy in her old age was openly celebrated, while young Mary’s explanation of a virgin birth was naturally met with suspicion. Even Mary’s fiancé wanted to slip quietly away from her and the unborn baby that he knew was not his own.

Who Would Mary Turn To?

In the impossible and precarious condition of carrying the Son of God in her teenage body, who would Mary turn to? Willing to do whatever God asked, but troubled and afraid, she went to visit her older cousin and friend, Elizabeth.

Who Would You Turn To?

Who would you call if you found out that you–or your fiancée–was unexpectedly pregnant? Who would you want beside you when you received shocking news? A life-altering health diagnosis. A job loss. A promotion. A holy commission from God.

Next Steps

If you don’t have people who will share in the ups and downs of your life, seek them out. Let me encourage you to take the next step to growing those relationships. If you do have those people in your life, hold on to them!

You can also discover God-principles to help you navigate the salty seas of relationships, in inSPIRE®–Faith for a “Whole” Life.

Consider reading through the book with that friend or family member with whom you want to grow in relationship. Group questions are available on our Journey-Group webpage to help you dive even more deeply into the treasure trove of relationship with God and others.  

Now off I go to pack that suitcase …