The Family of God

136 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 1Ti 5:1 Do not rebuke an older man, but exhort him as a father, younger men as brothers, 2 older women as mothers, younger as sisters, with all purity. There was an old praise chorus sung in churches years ago that went like this: “You will notice we say “brother and sister” 'round here. It's because we're a family and these are so near. When one has a heartache, we all share the tears, And rejoice in each victory in this family so dear. I'm so glad I'm a part of the family of God, I've been washed in the fountain, cleansed by His blood. Joint heirs with Jesus as we travel this sod. For I'm part of the family, the family of God! That pretty much sums up what the Holy Spirit is telling us here. Local congregations are church families and the elderly are to be treated like mom and dad. The young adults like brothers and sisters, and to carry it even further I would say, teens as teens and children as children. This makes so much sense when you consider that one of the purposes of marriage is to produce offspring, and one of the purposes of church as the bride of Christ is to unite with Him and through evangelism produce offspring! Marriage mirrors the church and the church mirrors marriage! There's a miracle that takes place when the Holy Spirit is received by an individual. They supernaturally become a brother or sister to all others who have received the Holy Spirit. This mirrors the miraculous act of conception! Believe it! Marvel at it! Revel in it! And act like it! It's strange that the Holy Spirit reminds us that this brotherly and sisterly love is to be marked by purity. The word means chastity. The exhortation for all is not to cross physical sexual boundaries in the church family. Pay strict attention to this warning, because it is easy to forget when a brother or sister might be emotionally vulnerable, and lines of sexual purity can be crossed. This may seem a little strong to some, but to cross this line of intimacy is nothing less than incest in the family of God! Yes, young people will meet their future spouses in the church family, and that's well and good! But the line of sexual impropriety must never be crossed in the interactions of church family members. The sex act is reserved for marriage, period!