August 19, 2014

We All Belong to God's Family

As Christ works a mighty change of heart in us, we start to view everything and everyone differently. I am finding that when I can see people more as God sees them, it feels natural to treat them as God would have me treat them. As of now my ability to see in this way is not constant, but I have hope that it will become more consistent as I continue to invite Christ to remodel my heart and enlighten my eyes a little each day. 
         

One thing I see with clarity is that our Heavenly Father always sees us as His family. His relationship to us as our Father transcends the relationship of an employer to an employee or a king to his subjects. We may talk about being children of God and call each other brother or sister, but I do not think we fully comprehend that truth, and we often forget what we do understand of it. Or at least I do. But our Heavenly Father and our big brother Jesus Christ never forget those family bonds. In the scriptures They repeatedly remind us of our relationship with Them and with each other. Jesus taught, “all ye are brethren . . . for one is your Father, which is in heaven” (Matthew 23:8-9). Paul reminded us of Jesus’ relationship to us when he stated, “for both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one, for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren” (Hebrews 2:11). 
         

As we come closer to God our awareness of our divine family relationships will flavor all of our interactions with others. God taught the Israelites that they should not harden their hearts against any of their poor brethren within the land, and to withhold what those brethren needed was a sin (Deuteronomy 15:7-11). He commanded that their king should study God’s word each day of his life so his heart “be not lifted up above his brethren” (Deuteronomy 17:18-20). The Lord gave a similar commandment to the Nephites, saying, “Think of your brethren like unto yourselves, and be familiar with all and free with your substance, that they may be rich like unto you” (Jacob 2:17). The Lord chose to describe the work of His church in family terms when He commanded Peter, “when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren” (Luke 22:32). 
         

It is difficult to think of our brethren and sisters ‘like unto ourselves’ when there are obvious differences between us. Some are undeniably more or less intelligent, righteous, or blessed than we are. My experiences as a mother help me understand this commandment. In the past few months my 11 year old son has been allowing his 2 year old brother to come into his room so they can play with Legos together. My older son is obviously more capable than my younger son, and his creations are much more impressive. But I do not love my older son more because his current capacity is greater. I know that my 2 year old will eventually be 11 years old and will create complex Lego spaceships and forts of his own. I also trust that eventually both of them will become adults with the ability to create things of far more significance than arrangements of plastic blocks. I just feel delighted that they are playing nicely and growing together in love. I expect my older son to help his younger brother along, and I expect my younger son to be grateful for the help. 
         

Our Heavenly Father already loves us completely and already sees our infinite potential through Christ’s merits, mercy and grace (2 Nephi 2:8). He knows that eternity will provide plenty of time for all of His children to reach that potential as long as we choose to do the work of growing in light and truth (Proverbs 4:18, D&C 50:24). He assigns those who are farther along to help their brethren and sisters who are coming behind, and He expects us all to be grateful for the help we receive from Him and from each other. Because of my experiences as a parent, I understand that God delights when we play nicely and grow together in love, and He weeps over His children who hate each other instead (Moses 7:28-33). 
         

Understanding and acting on our relationships as brothers and sisters in God’s family is crucial to our progress in the gospel. John taught that he who hates his brother is in darkness, while he who loves his brother abideth in the light (1 John 2:8-9). He further stated that a man who says he loves God but hates his brother is a liar (1 John 4:20). To know God and Jesus Christ is life eternal (John 17:3), and we are promised that those who abound in divine traits, including brotherly kindness, will be fruitful in the knowledge of Christ (2 Peter 1:7-8). I find these scriptures fulfilled in my experiences, for life does seem dark when I am feeling enmity toward another person. When I remember to pray for help to love God and others (those 2 great commandments in Matthew 22:36-40), there is light in my heart and I come to know Christ better.
         

Even as we respect positions of authority, obey the counsel of the Lord’s chosen leaders, and feel deep gratitude for the sacrifices that good leaders make to serve us; that respect, obedience and gratitude should be suffused with a feeling of brotherly love. I find a quiet joy in remembering that all the people I admire most are actually my sisters and brothers in God's family, and we loved each other before this life. As we lead, teach, and nurture those who are following behind us, we can esteem them like unto ourselves because we know that through the grace of Christ they can reach our current level of progress and continue on toward Christ’s perfection. An attitude of brotherly love overcomes feelings of intimidation by or condescension toward others. As children of God we all just need to commit to the work of growing in the light of the Son of God, and then Jesus promises He can get us all the way to the finish line.
         

We are all on the same team because we are all family. What a marvelous sense of love and belonging we feel when we remember that God claims each of us as His children and that we are surrounded by brothers and sisters. The delight I feel as a parent when my children love each other is a reflection of the delight our Heavenly Father feels when we treat His children with brotherly love. We should be cheering everyone toward the finish line – regardless of whether they make it there before or after us, at the beginning or at the very last – because heaven is going to be a more joyful place if more of the family makes it there together.