We are Family
Hengki Widjaja

This morning, I will continue to speak about being a family on mission. Family is very dear to the heart of the Father. To speak about it feels like trying to represent something I don’t fully grasp myself.

A friend told me, “Don’t preach from perfection. Share from imperfection and let the grace of God flow.” So that’s what I’m doing. We’re on a journey together.

The Bible is clear: the church is not merely like a family—it is a family. Jesus taught us to pray, “Our Father.” Christianity doesn’t just offer a god; it reveals a Father. In Ephesians 2:19 we are called members of God’s household. In 1 Timothy 5, Paul tells us to treat older men as fathers, younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters. The language of “brothers and sisters” fills the New Testament. The early church learned this from Jesus Himself.

But here’s the danger: misusing the word family. The corporate world says, “We are family,” and then fires people without notice. Family cannot be a slogan. The term is tested when it’s inconvenient—when it’s painful.

Why family? Because God chooses family. He chose Noah’s family. He chose Abraham’s family (Genesis 12:3). He sent His Son so we could be adopted into His family. Family heals. Family welcomes. Family refreshes. Family represents God’s heart.

When you enter a true family, you feel at home. You don’t have to prove yourself. That is our journey as a church.

And how does it happen? Family starts at a table. Not primarily in a Sunday gathering—but at a table. In the New Testament, the Lord’s Supper was a real meal. Around the table, there was confession, healing, and restoration. If we want to become family, start by inviting people to the table.

Then we love as 1 Corinthians 13 teaches—not just in marriage, but in the church. We refuse favouritism, as warned in James 2. We give greater honour to the weaker parts, as in 1 Corinthians 12.

Practically? Respond as family first, organisation second. See one another not as ministry projects, but as brothers and sisters. Enter each other’s world. Follow up with action, not just “I’ll pray for you.” It is not always easy, but we are called to love - love in action.

I’m not sharing from a place of perfection. Measure me, and I fail. But let’s pursue the biblical vision together. Let’s taste and see what it means to be the family of God.