Family Near and Far

Recently I was asked to share the message at our local church here in Mozambique. The Sunday morning I was assigned happened to be Family Day, which is unlike any U.S. holiday. I had the opportunity to talk about the importance of family, our responsibilities to family, and what it means to belong to the family of God. I mentioned to the congregation that although I left my family when I moved to Africa, I instantly had family when I got here because of the relationships we have with our brothers and sisters in Christ. I love to think about the family reunion we will have when we get to heaven and how there will be people from every nation and tongue together worshipping God.

But, there is still something about your own family. I can’t say that I’m currently homesick living here so far away from my family, but this time of year it really feels like we are missing out on a lot. We have family members graduating, getting married, having surgery, going on family vacations—and when you aren’t there, it feels like it didn’t really happen. Family members grow and change while we are gone, and so do we. When we reunite, we aren’t the same people anymore.

How do you reconcile the importance the Bible puts on family with the clear call from God to leave your family to go live on the other side of the world? I am so thankful to have family members that are supportive of the work we do and cheer us on from afar. I also thank God for the technology that lets us stay connected regularly. Thank God for family!