Have you ever been asked why the church focuses so much attention on families? It does seem a bit strange, since Jesus never married, that the church doesn’t affirm singlehood more. Instead, churches often provide resource upon resource for married couples and families. So, what’s the reason for this? Why is the family so central to the church?
Before we dive in, let’s address one thing. I feel certain that churches do not intentionally push singles away by speaking about marriage and family. Faith and family are simply so intertwined, that it is almost impossible for us to imagine one without the other. Think for a moment of the familial symbolism found in the Bible: God as Abba Father, we as His children, and the church as the bride of Christ. You can’t read the Old Testament without stumbling upon entire chapters detailing lineage. We often breeze quickly through those passages to get to the good stuff, but we should stop to think of their significance. There’s something going on in those family trees. A pattern emerges from the pages of God’s Word—family is important to God.
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