What is family? According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, family is defined as 1) a group of individuals living under one roof and usually under one head, 2) a group of people united by certain convictions or a common affiliation, or 3) a group of things related by common characteristics. Then there is the normal definition of parents and their children. But I think that Webster has a point. Family is more than blood relations. I’m sure many people think that way to. Friends just have a way of becoming family to us. And if you’re on the World Race, or thinking about it, your team and your squad will be your family. There is no way around it, it happens. It’s beautiful!
So what about people you’ve only known for 5 days max and may never see again? Can they be family? Do they have to be friends first? In my experience they can be family. This month my team met a group of 5 guys at Teen Challenge here in Romania. We joined them for about 4 or 5 days. We shared meals together, talked, worked on a puzzle, played various games, worshiped, learned, went to church, fished, watched movies, and heard each other’s testimonies. In that short time the guys went from strangers to family. It’s strange, we seemed to skip the whole friends part and jumped straight into family. But I wouldn’t have it any other way!
Working at Teen Challenge was by far the best ministry we have done here in Romania (in my opinion of course but I think others in the team agree). What made it so amazing? Good question. The guys and the team just seemed to mesh so well together, we enjoyed hanging out together, we love worshiping together, we love telling what God can do. We discovered that despite the fact that we may have grown up differently, struggled differently, need different things, speak different languages, have different cultures and customs, one thing is the same – We have the same hope and salvation in Jesus!
This bond, it may be the only thing that we have in common with any random Christian in the world, is so strong that it makes us family instantly. This bond works though any barrier that the world defines (aka, language, culture, etc.) and it unites us as one. When we have the same joy, love, passion, and desire, then even strangers become family in an instant.
Why these guys more than other Christians that we have encountered thus far on the Race? To be honest they all have become like family but these guys have rooted themselves deeper into my family unit than others. Maybe because they have seen where life has taken them without Christ and they have a drive and passion that is deeper than what others have, including mine. Maybe because love each other and other so well that we could mistake them as racers (they do live in community like we do lol). Maybe because despite the fact that they may have a deeper passion and drive there is something in their eyes that yearns to see what we see, to go where we go, to do what we do – as we see, go, and do it all for Christ. Maybe because there are things in them that I see, that I wish were a part of me and the Church body as a whole. Maybe because God just wanted them to be placed deeper into my heart than others I’ve met this month. Whatever the reason, those guys are family.
I cannot wait and hear all that they are doing. I will miss my Romanian brothers.
Who have you met along your life adventure that you consider family? Who have you met that has a deeper passion and desire for God than you? If you haven’t found anyone then look harder and let God guide you because you’re missing out on something amazing.
