Family: The Need Is Right Before You

You shall not hate in your heart anyone of your kin . . . 
 - Leviticus 19

People today love to bring up obscure and obviously ridiculous statements from the Old Testament, to taunt and mock Christians for not taking the entire Bible literally.

The argument can be made that God gave the people all the laws they wanted, and more . . . for people like laws, and in their natural state they love government. But God would not have had it that way. It was very clear that he did not wish for them to have a human king. But when they insisted, He gave in and gave them a monarchy; and they learned that having is not so desirable, after all, as wanting.

Leviticus is, admittedly, full of laws and ordinances that are impossible to follow, and in modern times, unrealistic and even harmful.

But the universal will, the permanent, will of God is very clear from Genesis to Revelation. He wants us loving one another, and He wants families caring for each other.

Out of all the good stuff in Leviticus 19, I chose this one about loving family.

In my work connecting families together, I am often struck by the response, "I don't know those people, and I don't care about them," when referring to someone as close as a first cousin. This is cold, heartless, and against God's will. God loves families. He set up His plan for the ages, through a family. Families that remain close, down through the generations, become like nations. In same cases, they are nations.

I leave this for the reader to consider. Learn about your family, and love them.

As you research them, you will find poor people, lazy people, criminals, dead-beats, cheaters, liars, drunks, drug addicts, multiple divorces and marriages. You'll find lonely children of single parents, aged shut-ins, some with severe disabilities, people whose minor children died from cancer. You will find other tragedies, coming from auto accidents, house fires, and even murder. You will find victims of crime. Unemployed people, talented people, rich people, famous people. But they connect to you through people that you knew and loved: your grandparents, who were first cousins to their grandparents, and played together as children.

Who to serve? Who to love? Who to help? Who to make no longer lonely? Who to give hope to? It's obvious when it's your own kids, or your parents or siblings. Start learning about your extended family and you'll find someone with whom you have a wonderful, even mystical bond, that needs your help, or your ear, or your time, now.