"All in the Family"

 “All in the Family”

January 7, 2023

Larry R Evans

 Introduction

The year 2022 was quite a year!  We lived through it together. Not all was bad, of course, but some serious concerns were raised.

·       2022 was the year we had a war break out in Europe. 

·      We had another year in which mass shootings made headlines 

o   around an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, 

o   a grocery store in Buffalo, New York, 

o   a Fourth of July parade in Chicago.

·      We read about 

o   supply chains, 

o   quiet quitting, 

o   and border crises.

·      Fentanyl deaths, sexual abuse in the church, and pushback on Covid regulations.

·      Gaslighting and goblin mode were words of the year, depending upon whether you asked Oxford or Merriam-Webster. If you asked Dictionary.com, the word of the year was woman, and I think we all know the reason why. People had trouble giving a definition.

·      We had Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health. 

·      We had a new Supreme Court justice, 

·      and we had another election.

·      We said goodbye to a monarch who stood for a lot of history.

More could be added but together we have had shared experiences. We are like a big family.

In 1971 a television sitcom began called All in the Family. After running for nine seasons a spin-off called Archie Bunker’s Place began.  Both film series were built around families living together. Within the family was the family patriarch, Archie, who was an outspoken, narrow-minded man, seemingly prejudiced against everyone who is not like him or his idea of how people should be. His wife, Edith, was sweet and understanding, though somewhat naïve and uneducated. Archie referred to her as "dingbat".Their one child was a feminist.  Her father, Archie, referred to her husband as "Meathead".  The two couples represent real-life generational clashes. The demeaning of one another could hardly say this family was what God intended for the family to be like.

QUESTION:  Do you believe this represents the kind of family dynamics God had in mind for families?  Why or why not? What would it take for a family to reflect God’s ideal?

Recently, there was another “family” event and by that, I mean special relationship of thousands if not millions.  They participated together in person and on TV.  It happened at a football game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the New York Buffalo Bills. What led up to it was a scary moment when the safety for the Bills, Damar Hamlin, was involved in an ordinary tackle, stood up and then collapsed to the ground. He appeared to be lifeless. CPR was on the football field as teammates watched, many kneeled held hands, and prayed.  The ambulance came and took him to the hospital. Several fans went to the hospital in support of Damar. That is not the end of the story, however.  Those outside the hospital were praying. There were tears and anxiety marks were clearly seen on faces.   ESPN football analyst, Dan Orlovsky, said on TV he didn't know what to do. And so, he did what a lot of people do when they don't know what to do. He prayed and I’m quoting,

maybe this is not the right thing to do, but it's on my heart that I want to pray for Damar Hamlin. I'm going to do it out loud. I'm going to       close my eyes. I'm going to bow my head. And I'm just going to pray for him. 

And then he did, he prayed on live TV. And the others with him bowed their heads and prayed with him. The shot from the camera was pulled back and we could hear a co-host saying “amen” as his colleague prayed for God’s mercy to be with Damar.  As one commentator said, “the definition of atheist has changed.” Just last year, a high school football coach who wanted to pray on the field, had to take his fight to the highest court in the land. We are living during a time when even culture is rapidly changing.  It is as though we are needing an anchor in these stormy times.

The Family Foundation

The Apostle Paul describes a different kind of family in Ephesians 3:14-17,

For this reason, I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.

The Father’s original plan was to create a large family on earth that would be part of the heavenly family. In Paul’s prayer, he identifies five characteristics that we will see during this quarter that guide who we are and the foundation from which we make decisions and shape our lives.

1.     “Empowered by the Spirit.: (v.16)

2.    “Christ dwells in your hearts through faith.” (v.17)

3.    “Be strong enough to comprehend . . . the breadth and length and height and depth” of the love God” and His purposes. (v.18)

4.    Request God that He will grant them the privilege ‘to know the love of God that surpasses knowledge” (19)

5.    Petition God to “be filled with all the fullness of God” (v.19).

It has been said that our prayers, what we pray about, often reflect who we are.  

 QUESTION: Do you agree? Seeing Paul’s prayer, what does this tell us about Paul’s values and priorities?

John Stott, an English Anglican clergyman and theologian, saw seven abilities of God to answer the five petitions we just read in Ephesians 3:14-17.  He finds these seven abilities outlined in the verses that follow that prayer.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. (Eph. 3:20,21)

God is able!

1.     He is able to do or work, for he is neither idle, nor inactive, nor dead.

2.    He is able to do what we ask, for he hears and answers prayer.

3.    He is able to do what we ask or think, for he reads our thoughts and we sometimes we imagine things for which we dare not and therefore do not ask.

4.    He is able to do all that we ask or think, for he knows it all and can perform it all.

5.    He is able to more  . . . than all that we ask or think, for his expectations are higher than ours.

6.    He is able to do much more, or more abundantly, than all that we ask or think, for he does not give his grace by calculated measure.

7.     He is able to do very much more, far more abundantly, than all that we ask or think, for he is a God of super-abundance . . . There are no limits to what God can do.  (George Knight quoting John Stott in Exploring Galatians and Ephesians, pp. 233-234)

 Eugene Peterson brings God’s abilities home when he wrote, 

We underestimate God and we overestimate evil. We don’t see what God is doing and conclude that he is doing nothing. We see everything that evil is doing and think it is in control of everyone.

The Creator Is the Owner

God introduces Himself in the Bible as the Creator (Gen. 1:1).  This is the most fundamental concept in all Scripture. It is from this that hope, purpose, and our own value is seen. 

QUESTION: Why would we say that God being the Creator is so fundamental?  Do we need to believe that God is the Creator to appreciate the Bible?  Why?

When we conclude that God is the Creator we begin to see four important qualities of God.  This reflects how we relate to Him.

1.     God is incomparable. There is no one like Him. He is the Eternal One. Isaiah confronted his people with this reality when he said, “To whom will you compare me or count me equal? (Isa. 46:5)

2.    The Creator is greater than His creation. Genesis 1 simply says that God spoke, and creation happened. Creation may reflect God, but creation is not God.

3.    God is willing to enter into the created world. This is indispensable for the preservation of creation. While He is superior to what He has created, it is essential that He chooses to remain with His creation.  He does not abandon that which He has created as evident in the incarnation of Christ.

4.    The Creator is the owner. He owns the universe and everything in it. The psalmist wrote: ‘The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and ll who live in it; for founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters” (Ps. 24:1,2)

QUESTION: If God is the owner, then who are we? How do we relate to a superior God who is our Creator?

The Nature of God

The Creator is more than what He has made. What He has done in creation is related to who He is.  The nature of God is described in 1 Jn 4:7,8 as “God is love.” This statement was made in the context of Christ’s sacrificial death.  According to him, the work of Christ reveals the very essence of God’s character or as the apostle said, “God is love.”

If God is love, then that means that every action of His originates and is motivated by love. The Bible says that He loves His people (Deut. 7:7,8) but also the alien (Deut. 10:18).

QUESTION: What does that say about God and the various actions He has had to take with His own people?  What implications is that for the alien? For us?

Stewardship is defined as the management of that which belongs to another.

How does that affect our stewardship if God is love, created in love, and motivated by love?

Man was created a steward in the Garden of Eden. 

True or False: A clear understanding of God’s love protects stewardship from falling into a legalistic mode. 

A faithful steward is not one who is seeking to motivate God to love him or her. The love of God is eternal and defines His natural way of feeling toward his creation.

Question: What motivates a true steward? Will motivation be different in good and bad times?

Values, Goals, and Service

The first half of chapter 6 of Matthew focuses largely on the Christian’s private life.  Matthew deals with material concerns in verses 19-34, in the second half of chapter 6. Jesus presents three sets of contrasts: values, goals, and service

Values (vss. 19-21)

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 

QUESTION: What is Jesus saying? Where are we to get the values that guide our decisions and actions? 

Goals and Ambitions (vss. 22-23)

“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

The human eye shapes the way we perceive everything in our surroundings. The health of the physical eye determines whether we live in the darkness or the light. It is important that we have a correct view of our priorities and values.

Service (vs. 24)

“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

It is a choice we must make and often they are subtle choices. We either serve God or the present world. We are faced with a blatant choice. Our motives guide us, and they are based on our values and our goals as noted above. No one can serve two masters.  Indeed, we are taken back to the Old Testament where we can reflectively consider, 

Thou shalt have no other “goals” before me, for where your goal is there will your heart be also. 

Conclusion

If a person considers himself a steward of God, he realizes that every activity of his life is under divine direction and control. He rests in the assurance that whatever transpires is in his best interest and good. He enjoys the freedom from concern and worries that infinite wisdom provides.

Freedom from worry and concern was to be one of the benefits of man’s recognition of his stewardship relation to God. As long as he recognizes God’s ownership, His sovereignty, and His authority, he is provided with everything he needs. Adam and Eve had no food, clothing, housing, or labor problems. – Mel Rees in Biblical Principles for Giving and Living, p.12

The Apostle Paul prayed,

I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge —that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:17-19)

And the importance of that was made clear by Jesus,

As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34,35)

Indeed, we were “All” created to be “in God’s family.”