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This article is from Today's Native Father, issue #132, March/April, 2004. Related articles from this issue:
Family Bible Study: Broken Families in a Broken World
When A Parent Has Already Failed
A Look at Two Biblical Mothers

Thirty-three men and women from twelve nations met in Malaysia in July, 2001, to examine how the Good News of the Kingdom of God speaks to families in a fast-changing world. As they prayerfully discussed fourteen case studies and over thirty biblical passages in depth, the following insights emerged.

The Bible speaks about all kinds of family situations: power games, favouritism, greed, rape, incest, violence, fratricide, matricide, patricide and more.

Jesus’ provision for Mary at the cross shows the priority with which he held family.

Biblical Greek and Hebrew have no words that directly translate “family” but various words to do with tribe, descent, relationship and household.

Factors in “family” which could be affirmed by the whole gathering, whatever their cultural background, were: (1) God is Father in his family, Ephesians 3:14-15; and (2) families exist not for their own sake or as an ultimate good, but to serve the purpose of God’s kingdom. The purpose of creation is to be fulfilled in the kingdom, not in the family. Understanding this purpose help us avoid making an idol of “family” or “family values.” Kingdom loyalty must take precedence over kinship loyalty, ethnic faithfulness or social status.

Christ is the cornerstone for building wholesome families. True security is to be found in connectedness to God. Our families give us cultural and human identity. But ethnicity should be secondary to faith. Our families should not define our religious identity or circle of responsibility.

Ancestors and parents are worthy of honour that neither vener-ates them when they are dead nor disrespects them when they are elderly, weak or defenseless. The function of genealogies is to perpetuate the memory of the ancestors of the people of God.

Families play a key role in God’s plan of grace and restoration. The Church as a faith family should take the lead in promoting healing, communication and instruc-tion in both faith and family life. This instruction should also include calling boys to manhood and girls to womanhood, principles of non-violence and Christian values about human sexuality. Unmarried mothers should be accepted by the Church in the love of Jesus Christ.

The idolatry of the family affects all cultures. Societies create their own idealized, unreal image of family life. For example, in the West the nuclear-family model has been enshrined in literature, advertising and even legislation. Pressure to conform to society’s image further damages families already disrupted by shame and guilt. We must uphold the good news that Christ on the cross has delivered us from all of these.

Causes of family brokenness need to be addressed by the Church. Among these are fatherlessness, subjugation of women, family violence and abuse, divorce and separation, and cultural practices and traditions that are counter to God’s way.

Sexual purity must be defended and commended in an increasingly permissive and promiscuous world.

This working group called on the Church to pray for hurting families, heal relationships and welcome all who come to Christ. They called on the People of God to join them in proclaiming the hope of the life to come in Heaven, where “there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Revelation 21:4).

Article condensed from Transformations, Volume 19 Number 1, a journal of the Evangelical Fellowship of the Anglican Communion. Used by permission.

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