An old saying says 'a family that eats together stays together.' This saying can easily be extended to a family in that that prays together stays with each other.
However, the distractions and stresses, and humanism that have crept in and eroded life can blow a family apart. People who claim to believe in the family but decry a belief in God are all too common.
It is no surprise that the parts of the globe that demonstrate the closest family bonds are also the most religious. So, whether you are from downtown Franklin Tennessee or upstate New York, the role the church can play in helping and strengthening your family is clearly immense.
How the Drift Away From God Has Hurt Families
Excesses of this world can catch up with anybody, including a member of your immediate family. The days by which a patriarchal figure inside a family can solely define the moment that a line has been breached, for many nuclear families, are in the past.
These family bonds have loosened primarily because the moral compasses that existed before have changed as whole generations have fallen out of religion. A slow drift, the inability to make time, or a determined break, the result has been the same; people have struggled with what determines being a family really is. Blood is not enough!
Why Have People Fallen out Of Love with God?
If God is omnipotent, why has society largely fallen away from him? Humanism in the modern world has taught us to question the intangible. This questioning has led to a superficial rejection of God, yet, when times become desperate, immediately call out for him.
Churches themselves, especially traditional denominational churches, are also culpable. Failing to provide the necessary answers has led to a superficial disbelief.
Providing a Moral Compass
The tragedy is that the moral compass that religion of any denomination instilled has been lost to the families that have fallen away. With nothing to replace it many become lost and the understanding of the importance of family diminishes.
Finding a way back to God for you and your family can reassert this compass as all the family members see those around and have outside confirmation of the benefits of living bathed in the love of God.
How Do You Reconnect with God as A Family?
The juncture where you find yourself with reason for you and your family to reconnect with the Lord is a crucial moment. It is all too easy to slip back to the easy position of doubt when the problem or moral hazard that you or your family faces dissipates. A wrong step when this juncture opens can prevent you from benefiting from God's grace.
Old Churches
Traditional denominational churches such as the Roman Catholic Church, Episcopal Church, or Presbyterianism may be your first port of call. It may be because you were born into such a tradition that you feel it is the right place to start.
If you are looking to bring your family with you may find obstacles in your path. Without instruction and or the necessary sacraments, your children or partner are unlikely to be able to participate fully. As you walk up to receive the Eucharist, they may have to remain seated, mere spectators to the spectacle.
Such rules are off putting and often prevent your families full engagement leading to you all falling away yet again. However, alternatives that allow access to the same God in a different, more practicable way are available in the form of non-denominational worship.
Non-Denominational Churches
Non-denominational churches have stepped in and filled the void left by traditional organized religion's missteps. Without judgment and free from barriers of entry, they are there to fill the gap and allow you to start a new relationship or rekindle your old relationship with Gog.
They are different from traditional religious establishments in that you are encouraged to make a personal connection with the Lord without the interlocutor of a priest standing between you and the Almighty. The rigid structures are blown away, and everybody is welcome as they help you find God in your own way.
Extended Family
Non-denominational churches place huge store on the family, with the connection between the family and the church being considered crucial. The Bible continuously emphasizes the importance and role of society in life, and non-denominational churches have stepped into traditional Christianity's void to support the place of family.
For them, the churches themselves looked to be an extension of your own immediate family, watching out for you and your family members, being with you at difficult moments, and setting them on the right path so that you can fulfill your life as God intended.
Conclusion
When God is found then he acts as a glue that holds a family together and its members to account. It is no surprise that the most family centric nations are the most religious. The two go hand in hand. It is easy to look at how those countries whose populations have been led away from the Lord have seen the place of the family disintegrate, with society suffering the consequences.
The drift has begun to be stemmed by new family-centric non-denominational churches to fill the void and reestablish the importance of family.