Finding A Family

Finding a Family

Women In The Early Church

Read: Acts 2:42-47

Gwen sat in the restaurant parking lot and fiddled with her keys. What a difference one phone call could make! Although she had enjoyed a wonderful childhood with her adoptive parents, a vague feeling of loneliness had always tugged at her heart. It intensified when her parents died thirteen years ago. Now, at age thirty-four, Gwen discovered her birth family. It included seven brothers and sisters, who were all waiting in the steak house with her biological mother and maternal grandparents. As Gwen stepped out of her car, she laughed. One thing’s for sure—I’m not an only child anymore.

Women in the early church also discovered a family, one united by a shared belief in Jesus. The early believers enjoyed a close-knit fellowship as they met in one another’s homes to eat, pray, and worship God together. Joy in their newfound faith spilled over into joy in one another’s company. Those who already had families were happy to find new sisters in Christ. Believers without a family were blessed to gain a network of friendship and support. Besides growing in number, the believers found that their faith matured and that their closeness strengthened them to face the coming persecution of the church.

Once we become children of God, we gain a worldwide network of brothers and sisters in Christ. This new family is based on more than biology or shared childhood memories. Love and gratitude for our salvation binds us together more tightly than any earthly relationship. As with siblings we grow up with, we sometimes have trouble getting along with one another. But it’s important not to neglect our relationships with fellow believers, especially since we’ll spend eternity together. One thing is for sure—in God’s family, there’s no such thing as an only child.

God places the lonely in families.

Psalm 68:6