It is interesting and instructive to note that God, from all
the titles or names available to Him, chose to have us
call Him Father.
During our Savior’s ministry He spoke of eternal relationships
in family terminology, and through the restored
gospel we have received further enlightenment on these
concepts: God is our father; Christ is our eldest
brother; and we are, to each other and to Christ,
brothers and sisters.
In Christ’s church, the family is the center, the focal point,
the foundation. Church meetings, programs, manuals, and
teachings cluster and concentrate around the family.
Why, then, is there not more evidence of Christ’s life
of a family orientation, and why did he say: “He that
loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me”
(Matthew 10:37); “No man that hath left house, or brethren,
or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children
… for my sake, and the gospel’s, but he shall receive
an hundredfold” (Mark 10:29-30); “The father shall be
divided against the son, and the son against the father;
the mother against the daughter” (Luke 12:53)?
Answer: There is evidence of family orientation in the
Savior’s life — widespread, abundant evidence. And He
contrasted the gospel with the family because the family
was the most important, the greatest value comparison
he could use.
The Lord’s concern for families is frequently manifested in
the scriptures. When Jesus, as Jehovah, gave the Ten Commandments
and when he reiterated them again during His earthly ministry,
several of them had connotations for the stability of
the family, and one carried with it the promise, “Honor
thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long”
(Exodus 20:12).
Scriptures that some take as a “put-down” of families (see
Mark 10:29 and Luke 12:53) are actually Christ’s most stirring family tributes.
He is undoubtedly grieved that the gospel would break
up some families; He shows approval for those who have
to leave their families to follow Him, and His most dramatic
way of showing the importance of following Him is to compare
it with the next most important thing in life:
the family!
Coming to Christ, knowing Him, following his teachings, is
life’s highest priority — it is the only priority
— it is the only priority higher than family. As
many scriptures (and common sense) suggest, the family
should take priority over church programs and organizations;
and this priority, properly viewed and carried out, is
a part of keeping the commandments of Christ.
Why did Christ not make even more effort to spell out these
priorities? Perhaps because they dovetail so tightly with
everything else He taught that there was no need. His
gospel is the family; the family is His
gospel. They are not competitors but teammates,
and the Savior is both captain
and coach, support and star.
He said, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God” (Matthew 6:33). How better can we
do that than by helping God’s other children (especially
our own children) to return to Him?
Next week we will look at the Savior’s remarkable ability
to put Relationships above Achievements.
