God’s plan for family

The gospel accounts leave no doubt whatsoever. According to Jesus, God has a great plan: to build in the world a big human family. Drawn by this plan, Jesus devotes himself entirely to everyone seeing God as Father and learning to live together as brothers and sisters. This is the way that leads to the salvation of the human species.

For some, the current family is being ruined because the traditional ideal of the “Christian family” has been lost. For others, any novelty is progress towards a new society. But what is a family that is open to the humanizing plan of God like? What features could we highlight?

Love between the spouses. That’s the first thing. The home is alive when the parents love each other, mutually support one another, share sorrows and joys, forgive one another, talk and trust each other. The family begins to be dehumanized when selfishness, arguments, and misunderstanding increase.

Relationship between parents and children. Love between the spouses isn’t enough. When parents and children are at odds and there’s hardly any communication, family life becomes impossible, joy disappears, everyone suffers. The family needs a climate of mutual trust to think about the good of all.

Attention to the most vulnerable. Everyone should find acceptance, support and understanding in their home. But the family becomes more human especially when the littlest ones are cared for with love and affection, when the elderly are loved respectfully and patiently, when the sick and disabled are tended to solicitously, when the one who is having a hard time isn’t abandoned.

Openness to the needy. A family works for a more humane world when it isn’t closed in on its own problems and interests but is open to the needs of other families: broken homes that are experiencing painful conflictive situations and need support and understanding, families without work or any income that need material aid, immigrant families that are asking for acceptance and friendship.

Growth in faith. In the family one learns to live out the most important things. Therefore it’s the best place to learn to believe in that good God, Father of all, to get to know Jesus’ lifestyle, to discover his Good News, to pray together around the table, to take part in the community life of the followers of Jesus. These Christian families contribute to building that more just, worthy and happy world desired by God. They are a blessing to society.