Christmas brings a sweet and stirring reminder that God is at the center of family. How does this influence our ministries with the disability community through the Christmas season and into a new year? I offer a moment for reflection on God’s Word about family, and pray the Holy Spirit enlightens the eyes of our hearts.
God created the first family.
The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him….” This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.
Genesis 2:18 & 24
God revealed Himself to us in the context of a family.
This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant…an angel of the Lord appeared to [Joseph] in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet: “Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’” Matthew 1:18-23
God tells us to take care of our family first.
Give these instructions to the church so that no one will be open to criticism. But those who won’t care for their relatives, especially those in their own household, have denied the true faith. Such people are worse than unbelievers. 1 Timothy 5:7-8
Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith. Galatians 6:10
Church leaders should demonstrate good care for their families and God’s household.
A church leader is a manager of God’s household, so he must live a blameless life... he must enjoy having guests in his home, and he must love what is good. He must live wisely and be just. He must live a devout and disciplined life. He must have a strong belief in the trustworthy message he was taught; then he will be able to encourage others. Titus 1:7-9
Family suffers together, rejoices together and spurs each other on.
For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering. Romans 8:16-17
Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are. 1 Peter 5:9
Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. Hebrews 10:24-25
As the church, we are God’s expression of His extended family. We receive special revelation of Him through shared blood, sweat and tears. A worldwide pandemic is stretching our nerves, paralyzing some of our ministry efforts, inspiring new levels of creativity, deepening our passions and reshaping our ministry models. For all the ways we are growing, I hope we will also be unnerved to face a holiday season and new year detached from the most isolated, lonely and vulnerable in our church families.
Photo Credit: Birmingham Museums Trust on Unsplash.com (The Star of Bethlehem by Sir Edward Burne-Jones).
The Christmas season presents a beautiful, fun, poignant and spurring vision.
When we look at the manger, we see ourselves as part of Jesus’ family. We see every other Jesus follower as our kin. We are reminded of our epic history, together. No matter what region of the world any of us comes from, no matter the color our brother or sister’s skin, no matter someone’s degree of cognitive or physical ability, no matter whether all our chromosomes or body parts are intact, no matter how aged we are, no matter what title we hold, no matter how much we resonate with someone’s circumstances, no matter what differentiates us—Christ unifies us (Romans 12).
All at once, we see Jesus through the years at Christmastime. We see Jesus as the babe, as the boy teaching other leaders, as the man tempted yet committed, as the Father-seeking Son, as the interruptible servant, as the storm-stopping powerhouse, as the food-multiplying caregiver, as the miraculous healer, as the unapologetic and undiscriminating conversationalist next to a well, as the One who turned around because He knew He’d been touched, as the One who saw and engaged with a curious sinner huddled in a tree, as someone who was bullied and bruised and scorned and misunderstood, as the sacrificial Lamb who hung torn to pieces on a cross, as the One who spoke life into others while taking His last dying breaths, as the Ultimate Conqueror over death, as the true Risen King that had been awaited for hundreds of years, and as our intimately personal Savior, friend and hope of heaven.
Love has come!
Love is calling us to be His family, following Him into the world together.
Lisa Jamieson is a caregiver consultant, pastoral counsellor and author of popular books and Bible studies including Finding Glory in the Thorns and Jesus, Let’s Talk. Lisa and her husband, Larry, live in Minnesota with the youngest of their three grown daughters, Carly, who has Angelman Syndrome. Together, the Jamiesons founded Walk Right In Ministries in 2008, a non-profit organization building faith and community with special needs families.
