Matthew 5:16 – Let you light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
This Christmas holidays i’m spending time in Nigeria with my family. It has been years since we’ve all been together for an extended period of time; My siblings are all grown up and my parents, though still married, are temporarily living in separate countries.
It has been amazing having such a reunion as I’ve been able to relearn the personalities of my siblings and parents. I’m so grateful to God for my family, and i’ve learned not to take it for granted because not everyone had a stable upbringing.
However, I didn’t know how the change in dynamics and environment could effect my relationship with Christ, but it has.Constantly being around my family has bought on a sense of complacency and i’ve been feeding off my parents’ relationship with Christ rather than continuing to diligently work on my own. Also, because of the high expectations my family members have of me, i’ve been behaving differently to how I would if I were on my own. I guess it is because I still care about the opinion my family have about me, even though Paul shows us that being a servant of Christ and trying to please man – even family – can’t coincide!
Galatians 1:10 – For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.
Having these things revealed to me by the Holy Spirit is helping me to work on them and look to his Word for guidance. My take home point from this experience so far is to be strong in the faith and be a light in my home. For those of you with unbelieving family members this is all the more important, as your witness of Jesus Christ can either lead them to, or further away from the truth.
For those of you like me with believing family members, this is nevertheless still important as your witness can be used by the Holy spirit as a tool to bring conviction to their hearts and lead them closer to Christ. I must not limit my witness to outside the four walls of my family home, I must witness at all times and with all people.
“Any place where faith meets unbelief is the mission field.”
I have to be strong enough to say no to certain invitations in order to ensure I have sufficient devotional time with the Lord. I have to be sensitive enough to remove myself from certain situations in order to obey the leading of the Spirit. I have to be loving enough to encourage my siblings in the Lord like I would my friend back home.
and though I am the youngest, I have to be bold enough to speak the truth in love if something isn’t being done in accordance with God’s Word.
Though it is hard, this experience is making me stronger and helping me to grow in the fear and love of the Lord. As a disciple of Christ, I must love Him more than any other, even my family.
Luke 14:26 – If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters–yes, even their own life–such a person cannot be my disciple.
if you’ve ever experienced something similar, please do comment below and share what you’ve learnt, i’d love to hear your stories!
JO. Adeluola
Joanne Olayinka 