“…as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15
The family is God’s idea. He designed for a man and a woman to commit to one another in a covenant agreement, making a union. We see this covenant in the very beginning in Genesis 2:24 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” In Matthew 19:6 Jesus says, “So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” In addition, in Malachi 2:14 it describes a wife as the husband’s companion and a wife by covenant. Their marriage is not simply a partnership, but a covenant joined by God Himself.
The joining of two into one union is descriptive of a covenant agreement. The marriage covenant is similar to other covenants where two parties come together in a merger. They no longer see themselves single, they now have the identity of being joined to another. In a marriage covenant, whatever they own, they own together. Whatever they can do, they do together. Whoever they are, they are together. They become one in body, in soul, and in spirit. To that union the covenant couple often adds children, making a family covenant. The blessings God puts on the parents are blessings that are available to the children.
God honors covenant. He also honors the love and submission it takes to have relationships in families, friendships, churches, and communities. God is with each of us individually; however, there is power when we are joined together. In Matthew 18 Jesus speaks about love, unity, and forgiveness. He says in verse 19 and 20, “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven, for where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” God’s presence is manifested when we come together to seek Him. Over and over we see this principle illustrated in the Word, as in the combined shout at Jericho in Joshua 6, the combined praise of the Israelites in II Chronicles 20, the combined prayer of the early church in Acts 1, and the intercession made for Peter in Acts 12.
When your family comes together, there is power in the unity and love that you share because Jesus is a part of your family. God is love and His presence is manifested where love is upheld and celebrated. As a family, pray together, worship together, serve your community together, and experience the power of God together!
Application: If you are single and lonely, find a church family to be a part of and do life with. There is power in the love and unity you share.