Growing up, one of the coolest and most exciting movies for me was Star Wars! My dad was a big fan, and he got my brother and me to watch them. We fell in love with the story, the action, and the science-fiction setting. It’s still one of my favorite stories set to film.

That said, one criticism of Star Wars that many people have is that it is like a family soap opera. It focuses mainly on the story of the Skywalker family. They’re the most important and pivotal characters and some people find it unrealistic and too narrowly focused. Today, I’d like to think about another story that follows one family which, to the contrary, is not too narrow and is very rooted in reality.

In our Youth Group study on Sunday Mornings, we are going through the Story of the Bible. Like Star Wars, it too follows the story of one family. The Bible begins with one family, Adam and Eve and their children, and follows the story of some of their descendants, Noah and his family, Job and his family. However, in Genesis 12, the Lord God chooses a specific family, Abram, to make His focus and the focus of the Bible’s Story. God commanded Abram, 

Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house
to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation,
and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in
you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.
Genesis 12:1-3

The Story of the Bible then follows Abram’s, soon to be Abraham’s, family as God guides them into the land and as they grow into the great nation that He promised them. God’s intention was that the Nation of Israel would be a blessing to the nations, an example of God’s righteousness and character. Of course, the Israelites, Abraham’s descendants, were not a perfect or holy people throughout the story, so God gave them the institution of sacrifices to deal with their sin. However, those sacrifices were not enough to cover their sin, nor the sin of the world, so: 

…God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live though him.
In this is love, no that we have loved God but that he loved us and
sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
1 John 4:9-10

God sent Jesus as the ultimate sacrifice for Sin and that sacrifice is offered to all nations, not just the family of Abraham. God expanded His focus from the Israelites (Jewish Nation) to all peoples, offering them a place in His household as Sons and Daughters. Praise God that we are made in His image, that He loves us, and that He has invited us into His eternal, heavenly family. 

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens,
but you are fellow citizens with the saints
and members of the household of God…
Ephesians 2:19

Not only are we loved and cared for, but we also have a responsibility to share that gift with others. We ought to live our lives like we are a part of God’s family and to invite people into that family in faith.

Pray with us for the requests of our people, for our nation, our world, and for those in your life who need a relationship with Christ or need a deeper relationship. Pray for your own relationship, that Our Father would call you deeper into fellowship and reliance on Him as you grow in your sanctification to be more in line with His holy character.

God’s Strength and Love be with you all, 
Noah