By the end of this year, the Lord willing, I will have been in 39 different countries. Wherever it is, even in remote Nepal, family is there. Fellow Christians meet me; they house and feed me and give me tender, loving care. After all, we're family the family of God.

Jesus had an earthly family that tended to get in His way. Through unbelief His own blood kin decided He was out of His mind. They would take Him home. When someone told Him that His family was outside, He answered: "Whoever does God's will is my brother and sister and mother."

Not that our Lord had no family instincts, for in His death He made loving arrangements for His mother. However, His true family was not physical, but spiritual.

Where would we be without our spiritual family? We would have no constant support net, no mutual edification, no serving and worshipping together in one body. A restaurant chain says, "When you're here, you're family." In the church, wherever we are, we are family.

The family of God
The nearest thing to Heaven here on earth;
My brothers in Christ
Ten thousand times have proved their worth.