Find Inspiration From Biblical FamiliesSample

Principles of family hope from the next generation

Family blessing. Are God’s promises reliable? God alone is the source of all blessing and favor. Through faith in Jesus, we are redeemed and are useful in God’s redemptive work in history. Your family is blessed to be a blessing.

Promised blessing. What does God expect from us once he has made a promise to us for our lives? God promises to bless us, and he keeps his promises.

Family life is hard, and the experiences of living in a family can be exceedingly difficult. Yet the believer and his or her family must hold on in faith and expect God to provide an answer.

Respect and dignity. Treating all people with respect and dignity is critical to relating to others. There’s never an excuse to treat another human being, one made in God’s image, with anything less than respect and dignity.

Human solutions. God doesn’t need help fulfilling his promises. When we provide human solutions to promises that appear to be beyond our own timetable, we only invite trouble and make things worse.

God sees your family. Regardless of how difficult your family situation might be, remember that God sees you and your family despite your sense of feeling alone, abandoned, and forgotten. God is in your life.

God’s purpose and plan. God has a purpose for you and your family. We find our purpose in life by submitting to God rather than running away. When we lose our way in life, we are not out of his view. Even when we don’t think of choosing him, his divine and all-embracing love chooses us.

Families in crisis need support. All families will face crises like the situations experienced by Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Esau. Families are human and, therefore, imperfect. When a crisis comes, they need critical and timely support. They also need to know where God is through the deep and dark valleys of life. Churches, nonprofit ministries, and counseling ministries are in the best position to provide family care when a crisis comes.

God faithfully blesses these families despite the strife and conflict and carries out his purpose and promise through them. How would the blessings and promises of the covenant show up in the families to come?

Family dysfunction and conflict emerge in the story of Joseph and his brothers. How will the tragedy of sibling rivalry and mistreatment factor into God’s redemptive plan for the people of Israel?

Questions for Reflection:

- How do the stories of these families compare to families you know today?

- How might your family serve families who struggle with conflict?

- How does your family resolve conflict?