HEBREWS 2:11
“For both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one Father; for this reason He is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters,”
In the 1970’s there was a sitcom that aired for nine seasons, ending in 1979. In this sitcom, Archie Bunker, a bigoted taxi driver, lives with his wife, daughter and son-in-law. We got to experience life in this family as they dealt with Archie’s ongoing antics toward just about anybody who disagreed with his worldview. Archie’s love for his family, however, was never in doubt. Family was important to him.
Don’t you just love this verse today? Look at it. We are told 1) we are all from one Father and 2) He is not ashamed to call us brothers and sisters. That is just a precious promise. The word “ashamed” is epaischunomai. It “describes the inner response of being embarrassed, disgraced, or reluctant to identify with someone or something.” (Topical Lexicon) Once you are adopted into the family of God through His sanctification, He will never be ashamed to call you “brothers and sisters.” The word sisters isn’t in the Greek text but is implied in the context. We are all in the family.
ASK QUESTIONS (Command to Obey, Promise to claim, Sin to avoid, Application to make, Something new about God)
The Promise to claim is clear to see, right? Because of His sanctification we are in the family. I just said that above, but it bears repeating. I can’t recall the number of people who think if they ever “mess up,” they have to earn their way back into the family. That is not how this works. It is clear that He will not be ashamed of us. Any parent can get disappointed at the action of a child, but none should ever be ashamed to call them their child. I know some of my actions displease the Father, but I am still His child – forever!
There’s an Application to make here, as well. If I am in the family, I need to live like it. I have a friend who was raised by his grandmother. She used to always tell him as he left the house, “Don’t forget your last name.” That meant he was not to do anything to bring shame on the family name. We represent God’s family. We need to remember that as we choose our words or before we do something that is perhaps questionable. Don’t shame the name of Christ!
I would never want to do anything that would bring shame on the family of God. One of my biggest heartaches is when I hear of another brother or sister in Christ who has yielded to temptation and brought ridicule on all believers by the world. If we all lived as worthy of our sanctification, we would see less and less of that. Agreed? Let’s all live like it. After all, we are all in the family.
I give You praise for adopting me into Your big, beautiful family.
