Rebekah 3

Genesis 24:28-34

In today’s reading it becomes clear why Rebekah is the young woman that she is. Her whole family is that way!

We are part of a family of faith. A few years ago, Barna Research included this as one of the year’s most intriguing findings:

Religious teaching minimally affect people's moral choices. The major influences on such decisions are the expected personal outcomes of their choices, minimizing conflict over their choices, and the values their parents taught them.

Of course, this shouldn’t be a big shock to anyone. You can teach a child religious values in Sunday school, but if those aren’t backed up at home, they aren’t likely to stick.

So that got me thinking… what if our family of faith began to adopt that idea at all times? What if we insisted on the same things we do with children? What if we demanded manners, respect and kindness in all things? What if we reprimanded when folks didn’t share or listen?

In our house, even though the kids are getting older, we still have to tell them to take turns on the Wii, to speak nicely to one another and about one another, and to respect others’ ears and turn down the guitars!

As a family of faith, our influence should be major. We should be teaching one another how to be kind to strangers, the way that Rebekah’s family no doubt taught her. There was room and food not only for Abraham’s servant, but also his ten camels. Are we willing to make room in our family of faith this way for a stranger? To feed, clothe and house them when they are in need? Honestly, are we even willing to do it for those in our family of faith?

Of course, this MUST be done in love and humility. (Colossians 3:15-17). Without that, we're just a bunch of nitpickers.

DAILY CHALLENGE: Are you willing to teach AND learn from your family of faith? Are our teachings as a church backed up in how we act towards one another?