The Christian Family

"Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them to your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home, and when you walk along the road, when you lie down, and when you get up." [Deuteronomy 11: 18-19].

It has never been easy being a Christian. Misunderstandings and persecution go all the way back to the earliest times of the Church.

Jesus Himself said, "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first." [John 15:18].

We need to teach our children who we are as a Faith community And, the more that Christians insulate themselves from the world, the less they are understood. I find myself wishing to battle some misperceptions of Christianity -- with the Truth.

I did not grow up in a family of believers. We were "nominally" Christian-- that is, we attended church only until I had received my First Communion, and my Confirmation in the church. Then, we quit church. I was told, "We already did that."

Christian families attend church regularly. They do not consider it a childhood rite of passage, to be outgrown.

Maybe we quit church so abruptly, because my grandmother had died; and she had been the one to keep a wary eye on us as a family. My grandmother was the one who taught me to kneel at the side of my bed and pray The Our Father each night. But she prompted me to pray only when my mother was not around. This led me to believe that prayer was something done in secret,maybe even shameful.

Christian families pray openly and pray often.

If I came home from Sunday School when I was a young child, and I wanted to talk about God, I was met with rolling eyes and uncomfortable shifting of limbs and a hasty change of the subject.

Christian families talk openly about God and TO God, as if He is another member of the family -- because He IS.

Around the dinner table, I heard constant negative talk- 'Oh, the taxes are too high, the rain  was going to ruin the day tomorrow,  the neighbor was only friendly because he was being nosy, etc.'  I heard no talk about what was good about life.

Christian families are grateful always, for what they DO have. The blessings in ordinary things, such as food, a place to live,  a steady income -- are extraordinary.

Around the dinner table, I heard talk of bearing grudges--- ' This one offended me, that one is totally wrong about something; how can I ever speak to them again? ' Out of simple disagreements came rejection and permanent ostracism.

Christian families believe in human error, followed by loving forgiveness. They understand that jealousy, grudges, judgment and hate can damage and destroy us from within.

My family would say that Faith was only for losers, who could not handle life by the power of their own wits. My family talked endlessly about idolizing human achievements. My mother would say, 'Around here, we worship The Almighty Dollar.' She talked endlessly about this one with fabulous wealth, that one with an incomparably huge mansion or yacht, that one with a chairman title.

I began to worry, if I DID believe in God, did that make me a loser? But that notion did not make any sense. Couldn't I do my very best and still rely on God?

One day, I decided that whenever I heard my mother say to worship "The Almighty Dollar", I would whisper to myself, 'You mean, Almighty God.'

My father would chime in and talk about "those people" who were incapable of success. He would say, 'Why should I help THEM?!" He told me to always take care of myself first. Once, I said something about caring about other people. He turned to me, shocked, and said, 'You CARE about other people?!'

Christian families care deeply about others, our Christian brothers and sisters. We care about those who are not Christian. We care about those with no religion at all.

My parents bought fully into the American notion that we can all accomplish great things if we just try harder and work more. There was no sense that God has a plan for us, or that He even entered the equation at all. In fact, my parents believed that my gifts and my life plan were what they told me these would be. And if I could not execute, flawlessly, their plan for me, I was a failure.

Christian families believe that God has a plan for all of us. We believe that everyone has innate gifts that come from God. No human being on earth can dictate our gifts or impose their plans on us. Someone else's pre-conceived plans will not work, if God is not guiding each and every step.

My family did not "believe" in saying 'I love you', or hugging or holding me.  Once I could walk on my own at age 12 months, I was on my own. If I fell down, even at age three, my mother would say, "Get up. Stop crying. You are not hurt."

Christian families believe in unconditional Love. They console, they encourage, they soothe the hurts-- because God is Love, and God is in all of us.

When I turned thirteen, my mother and my grandmother told me that my mother had almost died in childbirth with me, and that I had almost died before I was even born. Suddenly, I understood that my life is a sacred gift.  I wanted to ask my family to take me to the priest, so I could ask him what I should do with my life, this life that I might never have had. I did not dare ask, though. They would have scoffed at me. They told me, 'Don't worry about that. Just enjoy your life.'

Christian families believe in the sanctity of life. We believe that all life is sacred, from the time before birth, in the womb, up until the final moment of death.

I learned these Christian lessons the hard way. In battle with my family's teachings,  I learned to be a Christian on my own. It was a rough road.

I pray that you teach your children these lessons "when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up."

If you teach your children these things, they will not fear what is wrong with them when they desire to believe in Someone so much greater than themselves. They will know the Truth and they will rest easy in Jesus' arms.

For Jesus says, "Come to me, all you who are burdened and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me. . . for my yoke is easy and my burden light."

(c) Spiritual Devotional 2014. All Rights Reserved.