There is something burning in my mind, and it all revolves around raising, training, and educating the next generation.
When I look at the way we function as the Body of Christ, I can’t help but notice that we (yet) do not function as one Body. We find the next generation in families, in our churches, in our society, in day care centers and/or schools. But in this individualized society, we (as the Body of Christ) all do our ‘part.’ However, we do this without really encouraging parents to raise their child ‘on the path they should go’ (Proverbs 22:6) and how they can disciple the generation after us.
With this article, we want to make the Body of Christ aware of the shared responsibility we have. It is our mission to together encourage, encourage, and stand by every Christian family. We want Christ to be visible through them in the society where the family is the cornerstone.
‘You need a village to raise a child.’.
This well-known expression probably has an African origin and means a safe, supportive environment in which Everyone in the village contributes to the development of a child (source AI).
Who is in your village? Who contributes to the development of the children and where, or more importantly: with whom are they connected?
It is striking to see how in the West we have shaped family, upbringing, education, and the development of children in today's society.
It is very relevant to look at God's original intention. What would Gods Are they a blueprint for the family and the circles around the family?
We were created to be placed in a family and to be part of God’s family: the larger family of believers. We are invited to have fellowship with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We live as children of God under the dominion of the Father, and are part of His house in fellowship with Him and with others. i
So then you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and members of the household of God. (Ephesians 2:19).
God's family
Gordon J. Wenham (1943-2025, a British Old Testament scholar, theologian, and author) describes that in the Old Testament the birth of a child was twofold. You came into the world as an individual in the household and as a member of the people of Israel. Every Israeli is aware that they also belong to a larger whole than just the household, in which each member has been assigned a special place or role or function. Wenham explains that every Israeli saw themselves as part of a large organization, and as a participant in various teams. These ‘teams’ are:
- Nuclear family (the sons) – (father, mother and children);
- Extended family – grandparents, uncles and aunts, cousins;
- Family heads – all those who are related to a common ancestor;
- Gender – peers, generation;
- Ethnic group – a group with a shared ancestry, culture, or language, or groups that are united by shared ideas, values, and communication.
We see that God is not only the God of the individual, but also a God of teams, of communities (generations and peoples), and a God of nations. God’s family is much larger than our own family! He wants us to work together because we are connected to one another.