Articles
A Family With A Past
Do you have a period of your life that you consider to be “the good old days”? The past is a springboard for self-growth due to its ability to promote learning and teaching. If it is carried by us into the future however, it can become a barrier to our relationship with God in the form of emotional baggage.
Saul, the very first king of Israel, carried his past circumstances with him as baggage. He was a man from the tribe of Benjamin who came from an affluent family because his father, Kish, was a man of might and wealth (1 Sam. 9:1). Saul was also abundantly blessed with his appearance because 1 Sam. 9:2 ESV reads, “…There was not a man among the people of Israel more handsome than he.” It is great to see Saul’s humility in 1 Sam. 9:21, despite his blessed abundance. Yet, his humility becomes an issue is in 1 Sam. 10:21-22 where Saul avoids his coronation as king to hide among the baggage. Saul let his humility turn from one of deference to one of self-deprecation and unworthiness. Going forward, Saul’s choices as king reflect a man who is trying to prove himself to God rather than respectfully listen and obey Him. How often in our spiritual lives is past baggage keeping us from growing with God?
God in his bountiful love and kindness has given us an amazing spiritual family (the church) to help us with our baggage. Every member of God’s church has been baptized. Therefore, they all are unified under the blood of Christ (Gal. 3:27-28). In Acts chapter 16, Paul and Silas baptize a woman named Lydia and a Roman jailer and their families. These two families would have met each other at the church in Philippi to worship God together. Two vastly different families with completely different backgrounds in life came together with arms and hearts wide open to others in obedience Christ (Acts 16:15,34). The church is the family that all God’s children were created to be a part of. As a member of God’s spiritual family, you have the choice to let God and your fellow brethren lighten the burden you carry. Children of God depend on the love that Christ perfected and placed into their hearts. “We love because He first loved us (1 John 4:19 ESV).”
