The Family of God

Herzen and I recently returned from a trip to the Philippines. Most of his family are now United States citizens, having immigrated through his parents’ sponsorship. So, when we travel there, it’s not to visit relatives. Rather, we typically go to preach, to help with a mission, or to learn from our Methodist partners in a place where the church is growing and thriving.

This time, though, we had no professional responsibilities. We went to attend a wedding. In other words, we spent thousands of dollars, flew over 7,000 miles, and traveled for 30 hours one-way to attend an hour-long wedding!

Why? Because of friendship. Our friends’ daughter was getting married, and we had been asked to be the couple’s “sponsors.”

In Filipino wedding tradition, sponsors act as godparents to the couple getting married. The sponsors are practicing Christians who the couple respect and to whom they feel they can look to for guidance in life and marriage. It’s an honor to be asked to be a sponsor. In fact, it’s such an important role that sponsors are considered part of the family.

The day after the wedding, as Herzen and I headed to the airport to fly home, we were on the phone with our friends, the bride’s parents, Glenn and Gem. As we were hanging up, they addressed Herzen and me as “kumpare” and “kumare.” I was touched by the change in address because it indicated a change in relationship, that we are family now, co-parents, if you will, to their daughter and son-in-law.

When a baby or a child is baptized at Northbrook, all members of the church become “kumpare” and “kumare” to the child. We promise to take on the role of godparents and help the parents nurture the child in the Christian faith. Through baptism we are bound together, by the power of the Holy Spirit, as a family with the child and his or her parents.

Bill Gaither wrote these lyrics to a song entitled “The Family of God”:
 I’m so glad I’m a part of the Family of God;
             I’ve been washed in the fountain, cleansed by His blood!
            Joint heirs with Jesus as we travel this sod,
            for I’m part of the family, the Family of God.

My dear brothers and sisters, it is an honor to be family, and like all family, being a part of one entails benefits as well as responsibilities.

Thank you for being a family that welcomes newcomers, nurtures and cares for one another, and celebrates and supports one another through the ups and downs of life and our journey in faith.
​
We may not be a perfect family, but we are a loving one because we have been formed and are being shaped by the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Thank God for the blessing of being part of the family of God!
 
See you Sunday where the family gathers every week!
​
Jennie

---