The holidays are a time when many people gather with family, extended family, friends—people that are loved and cherished because of their relationships with us. The older I get, the more important family becomes to me. I believe that God intended for us to foster and nourish all of our relationships, but particularly those with family. It’s taken me only half a century to learn that lesson.
If the blood relationships we have are significant, the ones we have through water are more so. Jesus said, “Everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.” So baptism’s waters not only wash us in the saving blood of Jesus, but they also usher us into a whole new, eternal family. A family that we get to be with in this life and the next.
I hope you enjoy spending your holidays with loved ones, wherever and whoever they are. And I look forward to seeing you soon in the assembly of Christ, where we can enjoy one another’s company in God’s family.
It’s something to think about.
Westside Church of Christ 