Grace-Filled Relationship
In the fourth chapter of Acts, we hear how all the believers shared everything. There were no needy among them. They would sell what they had and lay it at the apostles’ feet. In fact in Acts 5, when Ananias and his wife Sapphira sold some property and kept part of the money instead of sharing it with their community of believers, they died on the spot. This led me to wonder: How do we, as Christian families today, take what we have and lay it before God?
I would like to suggest that in order to lay ourselves before God, we must let God have all of us. When we hold back a part of us, that piece dies because it is no longer a part of the one who gives life. Let me explain. If I was to let God control my church life but not my work life, then my relationships at work would slowly die because they would be based on something other than grace. The same is true for our families as well. When we allow ourselves to lay our families before our Lord and let God be the center of every relationship, then these relationships are alive and growing.
In our parent devotional time at our March Family Camp, we had a wonderful discussion on how we live this out in our everyday lives. We all struggle with how many boundaries are appropriate and at what age. When does it become more about us in our family relationship than about loving another. I think we all agreed that boundaries were important, but they must be rooted in the grace we experience in the Lord Jesus Christ. When we come from a place of love given by our God in Jesus Christ, and show that love through appropriate boundaries, we allow God to lead in our families. If we choose to set boundaries out of fear and anxiety about how our family members may act, then we have chosen to put ourselves first. This leads to relationships that eventually die.
It was exciting to see numerous parents that attended the March Family Camp loving their families out of God’s grace in the midst of setting appropriate boundaries. These families played, ate, shared, laughed, cried, slept, worshiped, and ate some more in imperfect, yet grace- filled, relationships. I am so thankful for the opportunity to witness God’s grace as families lay down themselves before our Lord at Laity Lodge Family Camp.
