Seeing the Face of Christ in Our Families--Thursday, March 1, 2012

Colossians 3:12-15

¹²As God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. ¹³Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. ¹⁴Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. ¹⁵And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful.

As I run around at breakneck speed trying to juggle family, work, and friends, I am in awe of my cousins who have put aside their own needs and families to rally around my Aunts health issues including sciatica and "rising numbers" indicating her ovarian cancer is rearing its ugly head. They have divided household, financial, medical (thank God one daughter is a nurse) and other tasks to give her "assisted living" in her own home.  In the case of one daughter it might have come at a high price as she separated and has since become divorced over this as well as other issues. I know God has a plan for all of us and I wonder in this narcissistic world if her story is to remind us of our priorities and the true meaning of a Christian family...in our own and in the greater Christ the King family. Maybe in this Lenten season we should put aside our individual wants and needs, and rally around our love of Christ and his sacrifice and try to move in a harmonious direction to worship the Lord knowing that God has a plan for us and our congregation as we work together to make CTK a healthy vital, growing Face of God.

Karla Mergenthal

For reflection:

The Bible passage speaks of “clothing.”  What names would you give to the “clothing” that you “wear” most often?

What gets in the way of your showing “compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience” to your nuclear and/or extended family?

What can you do differently, to contribute more fully to building a healthy, vital church family?