Forming Faith Blog

Complicated Families (Genesis 15)

Posted on September 5 2024 by Gregory Rawn

As you teach or preach on God’s promise to Abram and Sarai, you might have a focus on families. As you do so, be sensitive that families are complicated and that the topic might be painful to some.

A red paper heart ripped in half. Families can be complicated and even painful.
Photo by Marta Nogueira on Pexels.com
Since Last Week

We have now jumped thirteen chapters in Genesis and 20 generations in the Narrative Lectionary. The Narrative Lectionary moves from the beginning of humanity and our brokenness to the beginning of God’s promise of a chosen people—the people of Israel. The rest of the lectionary year—and the rest of the Bible—follows God’s promise through the history of Israel (and Judah) and the expansion of this promise to include the Gentiles.

An important event that we have skipped is God’s initial call to Abram in Genesis 12. God called Abram:

Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

Genesis 12:1-3

As the apostle Paul will make clear later in his Letter to the Galatians, through Christ we are all made part of this great nation.

Complex Family Trees

Most of Abram’s (Abraham’s) story revolves around family, starting with God’s promise that an older, childless couple would become the progenitors of a great nation. It is natural and good to take this focus on families and ancestors and apply it to our own lives—our own families and ancestors. But as much as families are central to the Bible and our lives, it is critical to keep in mind that families can be complicated—to put it mildly. Our cultures and churches often have a single template for what a “good” and “normal” family is. Many families do not look like that, and it is important to acknowledge that both implicitly and explicitly in your leading (teaching, preaching, worship leading, etc.).

Some families include children, some do not. Some families have two parents, some have only one, or even three or more caring adults. Parents can be married, partnered, single, divorced, or in an unhealthy or dangerous relationship. Some children know their grandparents or extended families, and some have never heard anything about them.

Painful Families

Sometimes, the topic of family can be painful. You might not even know it, but one or more of the children, youth, and/or adults you are leading could have experienced:

  • The inability to have children
  • Rejection from their birth family
  • Death in their family
  • Domestic, child, or other abuse
  • The social stigma of deciding not to have children
  • And many other experiences.

In your class, small group, or worship setting, a lesson focused on family might bring up painful feelings or memories. Some people may react with silence, others might share their experiences. Especially if you are working with children and youth, ask your pastor or other leader what you should do if a child or youth mentions anything that might suggest abuse or anything that causes you concern.

Adoptive and Chosen Families

Blood is only one of the ways that families can be bound together. Some families are formed through legal means such as marriage, stepfamilies, adoption, or foster care. A primary caring adult could be related or not, a legal guardian or not.

Young adults and adults might find their place in a chosen family, especially if they are estranged from their family of origin for any reason. This has been relatively common in the LGBTQ+ community, but it can even happen to people even if the estrangement is solely due to distance.

Faith communities have the opportunity to foster healthy relationships that can be a least a hint of a chosen family. [Note: While we are all siblings in Christ and a part of God’s family, it can be problematic to call an entire congregation a family.] Whether these relationships are with others their same age or an intergenerational grouping, it can be your congregation’s stated goal to help everyone build healthy and life-giving relationships.

Ancestors in the Faith

As Paul says, the heirs of Abraham do not only include those descended by blood, but they also include those of us who are made heirs through faith in Jesus. Therefore, not only are we made to be siblings with Christ and with one another, but our faith can be traced back in big and small ways throughout the history of the church.

Because of that, if a participant is struggling with a family or faith tree, you can point to faithful people in the Bible, in history, and in your community. We can all be a part of the family of faith—heirs of God’s promise to Abraham.

In God’s unending love,

Gregory Rawn (Publisher)

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Introducing our newest Learning Together unit: Created to Care! Wonder at God’s creation and learn about what we can do to protect and heal it in these five lessons, intended for children and intergenerational groups, family or churchwide events, or Vacation Bible School. This curriculum is published in collaboration with BibleWorm, a weekly Narrative Lectionary podcast, to accompany their summer series on Creation Care.

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Note on these blog posts: One reason why I write this blog is to introduce you to our company with the hope that you will like what you see and purchase one or more of our products. After all, this is a business with contributors to pay and my family to support. But it is my hope that these posts are helpful to you, even if you decide not to become a customer. However, these blog posts do not directly reflect the content of our products. My posts here are designed to pique your interest (and mine) and, hopefully, provide something of value that you cannot find elsewhere. On the other hand, our resources are designed to help you teach these biblical stories to both those long steeped in the Bible and those new to it. So, while we might challenge participants to go deeper in their understanding of the stories, we stick to the basics insofar as we provide interpretations at all. We present the stories in accessible and inclusive ways, but you won’t find any “out there” interpretations. Our customers find our products valuable to them, even though they come from many different denominations and perspectives.

For example, today’s post basically focuses on a “please keep in mind while you are teaching” topic, without much reference to the Bible text. At least some of our products might include one or two sentences to leaders on this, but their focus is on God’s promise and Abram’s faith.  

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