Has God given me a mission for my family? As a father of eleven children and now a grandfather of eight grandchildren, I’ve asked myself this question. If He has what is it? What is the mission God has given me for my family? To help answer this question, I’m reminded of the creation mandate from Genesis 1:27-28 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth … “ The original creation mandate in the first chapter of the first book of the bible is to “be fruitful and multiply”. This mandate actually applies to all people…those married with children or without, and those who never marry. God wants us to be fruitful and to multiply, physically and spiritually.
The original call and promise to Abraham was to the families of the earth. Genesis 12:3b “…in you, all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” God used Abraham to bless all the families of the earth through the son of promise, Isaac, who was the ancestor of the nation of Israel and ultimately, Jesus Christ.
So where does true fruitfulness and blessing come from? I think my favorite place in the Bible to answer this question is what Jesus said in John 15. Jesus said that He is the vine, we are the branches and His father is the vine dresser. He said: “Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” It’s not about working hard…it’s not about being smart, knowledgeable or skilled! It’s about abiding in Christ. The key to fruitfulness is being in Christ and abiding there. What does it mean to abide in Christ? It means to live with, dwell with, remain with Jesus… to spend time with Him, to converse with Him, to know Him and be known by Him. When we do this, He makes us fruitful and that fruit multiplies. It’s what we were meant to do as individuals and as families. So, firstly, I’d say the mission of my family is to KNOW CHRIST.
But there’s more. As I study the Bible, I am astounded at how God used families and relational networks to advance the Gospel and spread the knowledge of Jesus Christ throughout society and to the ends of the earth. I am reminded of how Andrew found his brother Peter in John Chapter one and told him about Jesus. Other examples include: the Capernaum official in John 4:53, Cornelius in Acts 10, Lydia and the Philippian Jailer in Acts 16, Crispus, the Corinthian Synagogue ruler in Acts 18:8, Onesiphorus in 2 Timothy and Timothy’s own upbringing as described in 2 Timothy. In each of this cases, God used families to help MAKE HIM KNOWN.
How does God use our families to do that? Through our marriages, through gospel living at home and by raising our children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
Finally, I am reminded of the generational nature of the mission of our families from Deuteronomy 6:4-9 to teach our Children to love God with all that they are and to do that in everything we do as families. And from Psalm 78, these instruction were given to pass on to others: vs.:6 that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children, So I would sum up God’s Mission for My Family in the following way: To KNOW CHRIST, MAKE HIM KNOWN AND HELP OTHERS TO DO THE SAME.
On Saturday, February 8, 2025, Paraclete Discipleship Ministries will be holding their first family conference First Baptist Church, 851 Washington St, Bath, Maine. Breakfast will start at 8am and the conference from 9am to 12noon. During this conference, I will unpack more on God’s Mission for Your Family and how to “know Christ, Make Him Known and help others to do the same” through my family. Come join us. https://myparaclete.org/events/