Loving Family

Behold, how good and pleasant it is
when brothers dwell in unity! Psalm 133:1

The only thing that never changes is the fact that change is inevitable. As I was talking with my wife earlier this year, we discussed the feeling that our family is always in a state of transition and change. For whatever reason, we have never felt like we were at rest or settled in any place. Living like this is wearying and discouraging at times. A friend made a statement, though, that has helped me come to terms somewhat with that feeling of unrest. His statement, roughly quoted, was that we aren't at home here. I infer from this that we may never have a truly grounded feeling here on earth as long as we are followers of Christ. He told His followers, "The Son of Man has no place to rest His head."
Let me qualify that statement. God desires to be our Sabbath and our rest. We can find rest in Him, even when we aren't feeling at home. Despite that, our human tendency is to seek stability and security. Even while we trust Christ our flesh wages war against the Spirit, and we may find ourselves feeling out of place. This is why the church is such an important entity. Christ is alive within us. He also calls us His body. In other words, we are His instrument of expression on the earth. Members of a healthy church will find that it is among those people that they feel at home, at rest, and secure. This is because Christ's love is expressed through us, His body. This feeling of being home happens any time followers of Christ get together. When Jesus said, "They will know you are my disciples by your love for one another," this is a big part of what He meant.
For those of you who don't know, my family is currently in another transition: we are moving back to the panhandle of Texas. The decision to do this would have been very hard but for one thing: Christ. As we have prayed and struggled and searched about whether or not to return to the geographical area we call home, the answer came through the body of Christ on earth, the church. Slowly, people whom we have not seen or spoken to for some time seemed to be appearing in conversations, on Facebook, and personally. It is as if God was telling us that our family, not just blood relatives, was there. Don't think we didn't have some brothers and sisters here who are just as close to us here, but Christ expressed to us through His body in Amarillo the answer to our prayers.
This is why I chose the verse at the top of the post from Psalms. It is good when brothers dwell in unity. Many brothers are divided and struggling against one another over small things. Many members of the Body are weakened because of the lack of focus on the health of the Body and the distraction of politic and tradition. As one popular song puts it, "We need each other!" I thank God for those brothers and sisters who heard God's whisper and expressed it to us, even when they were unaware of our prayers. I ask God to use me to express to others His will and love. I thank the Lord that we have Him, each other, and His Son. Lastly, I thank Jesus for the prayer that He prayed and His Father is faithful to answer: that we are one with Him (with His body on earth as well) as He is one with His Father.