It's All In The Family

It’s All In The Family
By Bishop Vashti McKenzie
This week's topic: The Importance Of Family


All of us have relatives, whether we like it or not and whether we know some of them or none at all. There are the relatives we point to with pride, and the ones we’d rather not acknowledge at all. There are the ones who are a Godsend, and those who come from …well think of a place you don’t want to spend eternity.


It seems that all families have some of these. There’s the historian who knows all the family secrets, and the communicator who tells it all. There’s the talker who doesn’t know when to keep quiet, and the joker who laughs too loud at his own jokes. There is the one who makes sense most of the time, and one who has no sense at all. There is the family member who tries too hard, thinks too much, says the right things, makes the right moves, the nurturer, the lover, the risk taker, the detail tender, the cold fish, the late bloomer and the user.

Rick Brinkman writes that behavior in a family can be varied and diverse. Some of our relatives may be cautious, while others are carefree. He concludes that some are only there when you want them, while others are never there when you need them. Some, he notes are easily offended, while others are offensive. Some family members make sure you know how they are suffering because of you, and there are the ones who come and go like the wind without realizing the mess they leave behind. In any case, it’s all in the family.

The Bible is filled with relatives and their actions. Cain killed Able; Jacob tricked Esau; Laban switched brides on Jacob; Abraham took his son up a mountain to be sacrificed; Isaac pretended that Sarah, his wife, was his sister to stay alive in the land of the Philistines; and Joseph’s brothers plotted to kill him and ended up selling him into slavery to a passing caravan. Ruth refuses to leave Naomi; sons are a heritage and children are a reward from God. Men must leave their parents to cleave to their wives. Fathers and mothers are to be honored. The Bible is filled with relatives. Just spend some time among the begats!

All of us have relatives, even Jesus. There was Mary, a young girl betroved with no outstanding achievements on her resume who submits to the favor of God and becomes the earthly mother of Jesus. Jesus’ earthly father could have embarrassed his mother but didn’t, and went on to raise another man’s child. There is his Aunt Elizabeth who gives birth in her old age. There is good ole Uncle Zechariah who initially has a problem naming the late-in-life child, John.

The gospel of Mark records that one day Jesus was conducting a revival. The family of Jesus concludes that enough was enough of this preaching and teaching. They go to the house where he was and demands that Jesus stop all this foolishness and come home with them. They acted like the relatives Brinkman calls meddlers – in everybody’s business but their own.

Jesus settles the issue by redefining the meaning of relatives. He widens the family circle by declaring that anyone who hears and does the word of God is His relative. Inclusion is not based on blood or adoptive relationship. Connectedness has nothing to do with rights or privileges granted by the laws of the land. Belonging is predicated upon obeying the word of God. This is the invitation to the family reunion.

Whether we are the family member folk love to see come or love to see go; the one who comes to the rescue of other members of the family of God or the family member constantly needing a bailout plan; we’re in, as long as we hear and obey the word of God.

Scripture Of The Day: “Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.” - Mark 3:35


Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie is the presiding bishop of the 13th Episcopal District of the AME, and serves as a guiding example for women and church leaders throughout the country. For more on Bishop McKenzie, visit http://www.13thame.com or hear her messages daily at http://www.thisisyourwakeupcallonline.com.…