Family Love

I had the pleasure this week of being at a family reunion and memorial time for a much loved cousin who had passed away recently. The event drew some family members from near and several from afar. Within the mix were numerous cousins I had not seen in many years. Some I had only met once or twice as a child and that was long ago. Others who were near my age I met for the very first time, which means we have lived our whole lifetime with only a slight knowledge of each other’s existence.

The wonderful part that struck me was the spontaneous, genuine, love and affection we all had for each other immediately and how natural it was for each of us to sincerely demonstrate this with one another. With barely any or no prior personal connections we had the common link of shared relatives, similar memories of stories we’d all heard, universal perceptions of long-loved family members, and a shared understanding of the family line. I believe anyone observing us would have known we were “family” not just friends.

Just before I actually went to the gathering I had made a trip to the grocery store for last minute items to bring. While walking down the store aisles I suddenly had a thought that any one of the people I was passing could have been one of my cousins also making a stop on their way to the reunion. I would not have automatically known them as “family” and that saddened me as I thought about it.  Without a recent picture or an accurate memory or a trusted introduction I would not recognize them or know for sure that they were “family” and so I would have just passed them by as strangers. Yet minutes later in the “family” setting I would be overcome with unbridled joy and love.

This got me thinking that love is often only authentically expressed in the context of location and association even though love is an ongoing matter of the heart. It is a remarkable thing when the unique bond of “family” can be experienced without reservation.

This particular reunion as “family” had been sparked by our desire to memorialize a lost loved one. It was the common denominator for the love that flowed that day. And this reminded me of the scripture commands in which Jesus and His disciples referred to the importance of the visibility of our love.

John 13:34-35
 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

John 15:9
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.

John 15:12
My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.

2 Corinthians 8:24
Therefore show these men the proof of your love and the reason for our pride in you, so that the churches can see it.

The world so needs to not only see but experience a genuine love. Let’s be the spark somewhere today. Hug a neck, plant a kiss, pat a back, hold a hand. Say the words, “I so love you!” Maybe even at the grocery store!

Gratefully HIS,

Jan