Home Is Where the Family Is

God, in His love, has given us each other.

Jeremiah 49
v.4 In those days, at that time, declares the Lord, the people of Israel and the people of Judah together will go in tears to seek the Lord their God.
v.5 They will ask the way to Zion and turn their faces toward it. They will come and bind themselves to the Lord in an everlasting covenant that will not be forgotten.

Where would we be without God's love? We can't stand firm against the enemy, we can't grow and progress in His kingdom, we can't live spiritually productive lives without His love. But we don't always recognize the channels by which His love is given. It is poured into our hearts by His Spirit, made real to us through His Word, and received into our lives from His people.

Where would I go if I didn't have godly loving friends to meet with? I could go to the store and shop, I could go to a movie or the library, I could attend a club meeting, I could stop in at a bar and grill. But what would I receive that would carry me through the next day?

Ecclesiastes 4
v.9 Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor.
v.10 If they stumble, the first will lift up his friend—but woe to anyone who is alone when he falls and there is no one to help him get up.
v.12 If someone attacks one of them, the two of them together will resist. Furthermore, the tri-braided cord is not soon broken.

Where would I be without their prayers, acceptance, support, understanding, fellowship, and help? Joined together with the body of fellow believers is where God has made each of us a new home. A place where we can belong and grow into the plan God has for us, see the dream He has planted in our hearts grow to fulfillment, a place where the heavenly vision we are following can be encouraged and supported.

We no longer have to wander alone. We can be at peace and rest, knowing we are protected by our God and defended by our family. Of the many gifts God has given to His people to use for edification, encouragement, protection, and to mature the saints, one of the most powerful, and one that is given to each of us to use, is friendship. The best definition of friendship I have found is God's love expressed to us through someone else.

Now this is not the kind of relationship based on things of the world we share in common with others. It is not the meeting of minds but the touching of hearts, that which is based on the eternal realities of the spirit, the deep bond that is felt between people whose lives, once in danger, were rescued from their peril, the gratitude we have in common for our Rescuer, our devotion to Him who turns out to be our Father. It is not what I deserve, but nonetheless it's mine. Like the prodigal, I can be at home at last and feel content until that time I can be in His presence and be satisfied.

But till then, I have the obligation to give as I have received. I must share the love I have been given, expressing the love of the Father to the person God brings across my path. We each see many people on a daily basis, but we all know that feeling of having our attention drawn to someone in particular. But how do any of us effect a change in another person? How do we accomplish God's work?

By staying in close fellowship with God, daily, hourly, practicing His presence, giving God the moment, stoking our awareness of His reality, we have the fresh, living word of God, bread hot from the oven, that we can break and share with the person who comes to us and needs God's touch, God's love, as it is expressed through His body in prayer and in action.

Every loaf of bread is the same in basic terms. It always has the same essential ingredients and gives us the same equivalent nutrition with minor individual variations. But the key critical difference between one loaf of bread and another is time. The fresher the bread that we break with those around us, the greater the love that we are sharing with each other.

Just as Jesus said, "Take, eat, this is my Body," He was giving, very directly, of Himself, in a way that would have done no good if anyone else were to do it. His wounding, His blood, paid the price as no one else's could.

Today, as we take our time and energy to be with God in fellowship rather than occupying our minds with some type of entertainment, we are denying our selves and turning instead to God. We tell Him by our actions that we prefer to hear the heart of God.

He shares His desires and equips us with understanding to help us resist the enemy and gain the victory as we conquer the strongholds in the promised land of His kingdom which is within us, our hearts and our minds, our nature. As we make Him our focus, we can quiet the turmoil in our thoughts and our feelings through the strength-giving touch of the Spirit so that we can hear His quiet voice, receive the comfort we need, the daily bread for today.

As our love for God keeps us in His presence, His love for us provisions us, and we have fresh life, fresh bread, fresh manna from heaven, good only for that day, but free to share with others. We die to our selves to gain what we share with the body. We overcome our carnal nature so the spiritual can grow. We lay down our life in grateful obedience to Him as He laid down His life for us in loving compassion.

Gracious Lord, thank You for planting us where You want us. You are the Master Gardener who understands companion planting as no other. You place us near those who can encourage us and deter attacks with the fragrance You place in their lives. And in Your wisdom, You place others near us so that we can do in their lives as has been done in ours. We trust You, Father, and dwell obediently in Your Spirit.

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