FAMILY LIFE

Defining what we mean by family can be a tough thing to do in this day and age. Some might say a family can be anything that involves love. But in today’s mixed society there are many modern-day definitions that redefine what family is. Indeed, many people today are using the phrases, “My close friends are my tribe”, or “They are my kind of people” when describing close relationships that feel like family. 

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Sometimes our family of origin cannot meet the needs we so desire and that’s where our “tribe” comes in. People can often feel more closely understood by a family that they have chosen rather than the one they were born into. That is especially the case if their biological family is dysfunctional or toxic. A lot of times there are various reasons as to why someone would choose to call their friends more like family than their biological family. Reasons such as family dysfunction, abuse, addiction, lack of boundaries, etc.

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But what if the term ‘family’ were re-defined to mean being chosen by someone who could be totally trusted to love us exactly the way we believe we should be loved? Someone who would love us throughout this life and in the life to come? Does the Bible have anything to say about what this type of love is or what the term ‘family’ in this context really means? The answer is a categorical YES. More on this later.