Even If I Lose My Family …
Matthew 10:34-39
Introduction.
What do you think of when you hear phrases like this:
“Blood is thicker than water.”
“Friends come and go, but family is forever.”
“Family is everything”?
These are all phrases that show the importance of family to our lives.
And they are right! In fact the Bible says something about that, too.
“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity” (Prov. 17:17).
But even then, it speaks as to the importance of friends.
“A man who has friends must himself be friendly, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother” (Prov. 18:24).
And sometimes, it speaks to how friends can be better.
“Do not forsake your friend or your father’s friend, nor go to your brother’s house in the day of your calamity; better is a neighbor nearby than a brother far away” (Prov. 27:10).
Don’t get it twisted now—we must choose our friends wisely!
“The righteous should choose his friends carefully, for the way of the wicked leads them astray” (Prov. 12:26).
“He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed.” (Prov. 13:20).
“Go from the presence of a foolish man, when you do not perceive in him the lips of knowledge” (Prov. 14:7).
But as another phrase goes: “You can pick your friends, you can pick your nose…” wait.
“You can pick your friends, but you can’t pick your family.”
But what happens when your family is not supportive of your decision to become a NT Christian? (Matt. 10:34-39).
There are different levels of this.
Most families in our Western culture will tolerate it.
But they won’t understand, won’t care, and won’t help.
Some might even work to undermine your faith.
Body.
Even If I Lose My Family, God is There (Psa. 27:10).
Loneliness.
It can seem rather lonely when we go to a home where we are the only one to follow Christ, or the only one to follow Him faithfully.
It’s great when you go to worship or come to events like this because you’re surrounded by people who believe as you do.
But then you go home, and you are alone, no support from our family, no help.
That loneliness can be very hard.
My personal story …
They might even turn on you, say ugly things.
“You think you’re better than us?”
“Who do you think you are?”
When I was trying to tell my parents about this stuff, they said things like, “You’re just a kid, what do you know?” Or, “You’ll learn when you get older.”
It could get worse, but through it all, what does Psalm 27 say?
Assurance (Psa. 27).
Far be it for our family to become our enemies, but they may if they rise up against us (cf. Matt. 10:34-36).
Jesus Himself says that He has come not to bring peace but a sword, that one’s own enemies will be in his household!
But even here, we are assured that even when our parents forsake us, the Lord will take care of us!
He is there to look after His own, and we are to “offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle” and “sing, yes, … sing praises to the Lord” (Psa. 27:6).
Of course in our Christian context that means we ought to worship Him through it all!
He assures us He will take care of us.
I don’t know in what way or what form, but we will be taken care of!
So let us be faithful to Him.
Even if I lose my family, God is there!
Even If I Lose My Family, I Will Be Faithful (Matt. 10:37).
Environment.
That’s going to be hard if you don’t live with a Christian family, or a family that’s not acting like Christians.
They’re using foul language, ugly to one another, drinking, maybe even on drugs themselves.
It would be so easy to fall into similar habits to theirs.
On top of that, you might have very little clothing that is modest, especially for this time of year and your parents refuse to get more.
Then add to that the difficulty of going to worship.
Your parents don’t see the need or they schedule something so that you miss worship, whether intentionally or not.
So then you’re stuck in that environment and you can’t get any relief at all because your family won’t take you.
I’m certainly not saying we should be disobedient to our parents (Eph. 6:1-3).
Children ought to be obedient and treat them with honor and respect.
Nowhere does it say: only respect them when they are being reasonable, or only show them honor when they are Christians.
No, even then children ought to obey. Be patient with them, do all that you can to convince them to help you in your faith (e.g. getting modest clothes, going to worship).
But if they won’t listen, still honor and obey them!
There is one exception—when they outright tell you to do something sinful and wrong (Acts 5:29).
Dedication (Luke 9:57-62).
Being in such an environment, it is so incredibly difficult to be faithful.
Faithfulness is hard all on its own, but when the people of your own house aren’t supportive, it makes it that much more difficult.
How can you be dedicated under the circumstances?
Be diligent in asking to go to worship—if they won’t take you, be diligent in seeking a ride.
Use whatever voice you have to speak up for yourself and for the Lord.
But the key is not to be disrespectful or rude, not to shout or demand.
Instead be polite and kind, but persistent!
That goes with every one of the things we’ve talked about today.
But you can’t look back, like the man with his hand to the plow.
Believe me, the prize is worth it!
But even with all we’ve lost, look at how much we’ve gained.
Even if I lose my family, God is there and I will be faithful.
Even If I Lose My Family, I Will Gain a New One.
Loss (Mark 10:28-29).
Peter comes right out and says, “We’ve given it all up to follow you.”
Peter himself left his family there in Capernaum to travel around with Jesus.
He even left his job, his livelihood to follow Jesus.
How was he going to support his family?
At the time he didn’t know, but he knew he had to follow Jesus.
Jesus comes back and says, “Yes, you’ve left quite a lot. You’ve done it for My sake and for the sake of the gospel.”
How important is that gospel to us? How important is Jesus to us?
To think of what He gave up for us, how could we keep anything from Him?
But the loss we experience for the sake of gospel of Christ is nothing compared to what we gain, even on this earth.
Gain (Mark 10:30).
You might leave biological family here on this earth, but when you become a Christian you gain a brand new one.
I have spiritual parents and grandparents all over North and South Carolina, and in Florida and Virginia.
I have brothers and sisters I would have never met otherwise.
Some of you here may feel that way about each other.
We can rely on one another to help us through thick and thin.
But it’s not just what you gain in this life—it’s what you get in the next one.
While we gain a spiritual family, we also gain eternal life with that family—what a blessing!
But I don’t want to neglect this one phrase that seems odd in the context: “with persecutions.”
You see, while we may gain much, Jesus doesn’t want us to forget that we will have to endure much in this life in order to follow Him.
But take comfort in your new family, keep your hand to the plow, and know that the Lord is there.
Even if I lose my family, God is there, I will be faithful, and I will gain a new family!
Conclusion.
So let’s revisit those old phrases we did at the beginning of this sermon.
“Blood is thicker than water” – “The blood of Jesus is thicker than water.”
“Friends come and go, but family is forever” – “Friends come and go, but our Lord is forever.”
“Family is everything” – “Christ is everything.”
And not just Christ, but the ones He died for, the ones He purchased with His own blood, His church, our spiritual family (Acts 20:28) – they, too, are everything, or should be, to us!
So let us take comfort in Him.
If your family has turned on you, well, it won’t always be like this.
One day you’ll be on your own, and you’ll be better able to serve God more fully.
And perhaps they will be converted, or at the very least perhaps they will respect your choices.
But while you’re going through hardships today, remember …
God is still there—He loves you and cares about you.
Remember to be loving and respectful, but also persistent.
Remember to rely on your new spiritual family to help you through these tough times.