"Time With The Family"

 by David Paden

            One of the things I truly cherish in this life is the time I get to spend with my family.  When I have been away all day, I can hardly wait until I get home, just so I can spend time with my loving wife and my four precious children. I sometimes find it very difficult to study and get my work as a minister completed, because my mind is still at home with them. I must admit that I am very selfish when it comes to the time I get to spend with my family. Why? The "time" I spend with my family is what causes us to be the family we are. For example, Husbands and wives are to love one another so much that they would be willing at any given moment to give their lives for one another (Eph. 5:25-33). What causes a husband and wife to have this kind of love for one another? It is the valuable time that they spend together. Parents are commanded to bring their children up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord (Eph. 6:4). What is the key element in accomplishing this great task? It is the time that parents spend with their children; for without this time, there would be no way possible that this task could be accomplished. Children are commanded to obey their parents (Eph. 6:1). Once again, how is it that such a task is accomplished? It is because of time. The more time children spend with their parents, the more they respect them and recognize them as authority figures in their lives. It all depends on time. When we fail to spend time with our family, we cease to be a real family. We are just husbands, wives, children or just members of the family. Though we are related, we are not the true family which we should and could be. Time is of essence when it comes to a family. 

            The same principal is likewise true when it comes to the church. The Bible teaches that the church is a family. "But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth." (1 Tim. 3:15) The word house in this passage refers to a family. Thus, the church is a family. When an individual is baptized into Christ, he/she becomes a child of God (Gal. 3:26-27). He is then placed within God's family, the church (Acts 2:47). What causes the church to be a family? It's not due to the fact that we are church members or children of God.  It's because of the time that we spend together. The time which we spend together worshiping God on Sunday, Wednesday, during gospel meetings and Vacation Bible School, causes us to be the family we are (Jn. 4:24). The time which we spend together abounding in the work of the Lord causes us to be a family (1 Cor. 15:58). The time which we spend in fellowship with one another, causes us to be a family (1 Jn. 1:7). When we fail to spend the proper time with our church family, we fail to be a real family. We simply become members. We are still related. We are brothers and sisters in Christ, but we are not the family we should and could be. Just as time is of essence when it comes to our physical family, time is of essence when it comes to our spiritual family. 

                 Let us all be sure that we spend quality time with our physical and spiritual family. For time is the essence of being a family.