Sunday, January 28, 2018

A Prayer

We thank You, Father, that in Your kind wisdom You created families. You didn’t have to do it this way. You could have made it so that everyone would grow up on their own. But having created humanity with social needs and desires, You decided that establishing families would be the way to go. We are grateful for that since to grow up alone would mean that we would have to figure out life on our own. And that surely wouldn't work very well.

So, we thank You, Father, for this expression of Your wisdom and Your kindness: families.

But we all recognize that what a family is supposed to be and what families actually are is not the same. Sin has done its evil work here as elsewhere.

Whether we have grown up in Godly families that were filled with love or not, we all have memories of sins and failures and gaps in what should have been.

So, Father, where there are wounds, apply Your comforting balm. Remind us that You use all things for good, even our experiences of sin.

Where there is a need for us to forgive, give us the ability to do that. Remind us of how You, time and time again, graciously forgive us.

Where there is a need to go to ask for forgiveness, give us the humility and love needed to do that.

And where there is a need to express gratitude to other members of our families for the ways in which they loved us, move us to do that.

As we are still in families that are not perfect, help us, Father, to work at perfecting them. Remind us that Jesus has come for this purpose also, to redeem families.

We know that there is a day coming when we will all enjoy the blessings of a perfect family, Your family. In that day, we will see You, our Father, face to face. Jesus will be there as our older brother. And the Spirit of love will bind us together as one. We look forward to that.

We thank You, Father, for this blessing of families. And we pray this through Christ our Lord, Amen.

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