I know these people…

They are my wife’s family.

My wife is the little girl on the right.

Once… when our daughter was very little…

She found this picture.

She found it in a box…

In a closet …

Back behind the clothes.

Looking at the picture…

Her eyes wide…

She turned to her mother…

“Mommy,” she asked, “Who are these people in the picture?”

Her grandparents were just a little younger than she had ever seen them…

She looked at the picture again…

“And why am I in the picture with them?”

She didn’t see her mother in the picture…

She saw herself.

 Family resemblance.

 Families are a gift from God…

…You find families for those who are lonely. Psalm 68:6

A reminder that through Jesus, we are part of God’s family…

…to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God…John 1:12

What does God want to pass on to us as members of His family?

Family resemblance…

Family Love …

A Family love born of His perfect love…

…God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 1 John 4:16

A Family resemblance everyone will recognize…

If you love each other, everyone will know that you are my disciples. John 13:35

A family resemblance that will one day heal the world

“If you want to bring happiness to the whole world, go home and love your family.”  Mother Teresa

 Sometimes we pass along family love …

 Sometimes we pass along more complicated emotions…

Sometimes we mess it up…

He always knew we would.

But He gave us families to love anyway…

Just as he gave us His love and mercy and grace…

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16