Week 46: Family and Relationship, What is the most important thing in your life?

“Other things may change us, but we start and end with family.” (Anthony Brandt)

“Our mouth says our family and relationship are the most important. But occasionally our hands and feet demonstrated different value.” (Richard Angelus)

During my early years someone asked me a question, what is the most important thing in your life? I would reply ‘Jesus’, but some other time I would say, ‘my family’ or ‘my friends’. To be honest, my inner being would sometime jump up to say ‘myself’. If you’re facing the same question (I bet you had) what probably is your answer? Top of the lists would be ‘my family’, ‘my spouse’, ‘my children’ or ‘my friends’. We put it on paper. We memories it’s sequences. We even boast about it. But actually, in reality, are we really living that way?

Our mouth says our family and relationship are the most important. But occasionally our hands and feet demonstrated different value. One day in Mid-Valley megamall, a not so slim promoter come and approached me. She promotes a slimming product! Now base on your present judgment and common sense, do you think I would buy the product? Of course not! In the same way, our value are not demonstrated by our words, though it’s a good start, but by our deeds and end results. Darren Hardy writes “How a person spends their time and money reveals what they really value most. Well, no more lips service. It’s time to make the main thing in your life actually the main thing.”

Family and relationship with others are important in our life. Successful without family to enjoy is useless. Big party without friends is not a party at all. Marriage without spouse and children while them still alive is meaningless. Look at your calendar, planner and checkbook; is there any holiday or outing with family and friends? Does your work occupied most of your time? Try this, how about your ‘Dialed Calls’ on your phone call log or sms in your inbox; when is the last time you make contact with them?


I was surprise when my brother sends a text message to me one morning. Since we were kids, we not really ‘care’ for each other. We did play football and play wrestling together but I never received anything as significant as this text message. He sms’ed, “I love you, brother.” At first I want to throw up. (Girls, try to understand, normally flesh and blood brothers don’t say that to one another… at least in my culture.) What got into him? Possessed by demon or overflowed with the Spirit of God? I’m confused. But since I believe that God can do anything, I trust that He had touched him somehow. After many years we played ‘brother’, this time is for real! Really, family is important!


It doesn’t take too much effort and hard work to shows that we value our family and relationship above everything else. How about a call or a text messages now? How about watching movie or play together this week? How about having a family dinner party or holiday together this year? Success in life has everything to do with our relationship at home.


When we thought that the greatest treat we face today is a terrorist attack by Osama Bin laden’s remaining followers or by global warming and natural disasters, little we realize that the Devil already planned his treat to attack our very own family. The enemy loves nothing more than to ruin, to stir up, to inflict your relationship with your family, friends and others. Therefore, we must fight for it! Fight like Nehemiah when enemies tried to ruin their plan to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. He said to everyone, “Don’t be afraid of them. Put your minds on the Master, great and awesome, and then fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.” (Nehemiah 4:14 The Message)

If you say that family is important to you, fight for them! If you say that your children mean the whole world for you, fight for them! If you say ‘I do!’ to your spouse and ‘Nothing can set us apart’, fight for it! Nehemiah advised (lead by the Spirit of God) to “put your minds on the Master, great and awesome.” He is the God of Relationship, not some Deity that is somewhere up there but He is near to us.

Any relationship will not be complete unless we have relationship with God. But how can we? We cannot go to Heaven and say ‘Hi God, I want to be your friend.’ We cannot go ‘up’ to Him but He can come ‘down’ to us. And that is exactly what Jesus did. His life, the cross and the resurrection, Roman 5:11 declares, “Now we can rejoice in out wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.”

THINK BIG Family and relationship is important.

START SMALL Fight for them!

GO DEEP If God value relationship more than everything else, who gave His One and only Son to settled the relationship between us and Him, how much more are we to settle our relationship with each other?

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