It is hard to imagine someone living alone on an island and still being able to enjoy life to the fullest. Regardless of how much he has in terms of material possessions, he will surely not be fulfilled in life. Rather, he will be lonely and will long to have someone to share his joy or burden with. It is for this reason that the Psalmist said, “God sets the lonely in families” (Psalm 68:6). It is indeed God’s will that we have a family to provide the needed support and company. It is our families that will make life fulfilling and enjoyable as they extend their moral, emotional, physical and spiritual support. No wonder someone coined the saying “no man is an island” to emphasize that we need each other not only to survive in this life but to enjoy it.
Even from the beginning, man was wired by the Lord to long for fellowship. When God created the heavens and the earth, he described everything he created as “good.” However, in the midst of everything he created that was considered “good,” he noted and said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him” (Gen. 2:18). Adam needed company and God created the animals of the field and birds of the air to give Adam the needed company but he found no one comparable to him as a helpmeet. He remained lonely and it was for this reason that God created Eve as his helpmeet. God then instituted marriage and from there, the family unit began, as Adam and Eve multiplied just as the Lord commanded them to do.
While we have our own families, we also have our spiritual family. In fact, the apostle Paul encouraged the believers to also look after the welfare of the spiritual family. He said, “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith” (Gal. 6:10). The spiritual family is the bigger family unit to which every believer belongs. This is the family that the Psalmist was referring to when he said that God sets the lonely in families. The spiritual family is composed of many families and is a steadier source of support and encouragement in that if one family fails to help us then the other families will still be there for us. Each member of the spiritual family will be a channel of blessings as each provides us not only our need for fellowship but every spiritual, emotional and material help that we need.
But how can we be part of a spiritual family? When Jesus was informed one day that his mother and brothers were waiting outside to speak to him, he said, “’Who is My mother and who are My brothers?’ And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, ‘Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother’” (Matt. 12:48-50). In saying this, he was emphasizing that a spiritual family is composed of those who believe in him and call themselves born again. When we obey Jesus’ command to be born again, we are born into a new relationship where God is our Father and each one of us becomes brothers and sisters. This relationship that we have with one another becomes even stronger than our relationship with our earthly family because we are bound by the love of God and our common love for the Lord Jesus Christ.
As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, we had encountered people who were once strangers to us but suddenly became close friends and a family to us. How did this happen. In Proverbs 17:17, we are told that “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” Indeed, we are born to meet each other’s need in times of adversity. God created us to be an “Eve” or a helpmeet for those that will need our help in the future. Not only is a brother born for adversity but also in adversity. When we are deeply in trouble and in need of help, suddenly we find a “brother,” even in a stranger that comes along, and we then become a family. God has his own way of joining us together to become a family.
As a family of believers, we should heed the admonition of the apostle Paul to be good to one another. He said, “Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion” (Rom. 12:15-16). Let us be a member of God’s family in good moral and spiritual standing. Let us pray for one another and be a blessing to each other. Let us make our spiritual family strong as we unite ourselves in love. Let’s make it a big and a happy family of God where the lonely can come and be blessed. Hallelujah!