This year at Avalanche and Blizzard our focus was on God’s invitation to his table,a. theme that resonated deeply with so many people. Indeed, we welcomed, figuratively speaking, “the poor, the blind, the crippled, the blind and the lame.”

Today is Family Day. Google’s first definition of family is “a group consisting of parents and children living together in a household.” (https://www.google.com/search?safe=active&rlz=1C1GCEU_enCA820CA820&q=Dictionary#dobs=family) We were all born into a family. The health of that family varies some are very healthy; others have no health at all. For the most part, we do not get to choose who our family is,  so we live with who we have until we’re independent enough to live on our own.

The next definition Google gives is “all the descendants of a common ancestor”. Scripture points out that we all have a common ancestor in Adam. Like the first definition, we didn’t have a choice in that, however, the Apostle Paul refers to Jesus as the “last Adam” (1 Cor. 15:22, 45). So, in truth, we do have a choice to join God’s family through Jesus. It’s an invitation to be restored and redeemed into a family which God originally intended.

The invitation isn’t just for us, it’s available to anyone. We who follow Jesus can extend that invitation to others. The invitation is to come as you are; the promise is the Holy Spirit will not leave you as you are, but will shape you to be like Jesus.

On this Family Day, may you enjoy not just the family you were born/adopted into, but also the family that recognizes and celebrates Jesus, the head of our family, our Lord and Saviour.