Belmore Road is the eighth congregation that I have been a part of during my Christian walk.  The other seven congregations were all in the US – three different cities in Florida, two fellowships in Nashville, one in the suburbs of Chicago and one deep in the Bible-belt of America – Austin, Texas. Each of these gatherings of Christians had their own distinct ‘personality’ as a group of people, but one thing that has been characteristic of all of them has been a deep and abiding sense of being a family. 

I think this is particularly true of Belmore Road.  Perhaps this is because many of us don’t have extended families here in Melbourne, or even in Australia.  Perhaps it’s due to our relatively small size, compared to the 700+ we worshipped with in Austin.  Or maybe it’s because this was and is part of the Lord’s plan when He put together the pattern of His church.

He knew that we would need others to help us grow stronger in our faith and our walk with Him (Hebrews 3:13).  He anticipated our need to have others help hold us to account for faith – people who could say an encouraging word, ask the hard question, ponder with us difficult decisions (Colossians 3:16).  He planned for us to have others rejoice with us in our happiness and cry with us in our sorrows (Romans 12:15).  He wanted us to have people so close to us that they would see our needs and do whatever they could to meet those needs (Galatians 6:10).  At its deepest essence, isn’t this what family is?  Isn’t this what family does?

Our personal families are made up of individuals – each with their own strengths, personalities, ideas, goals, contributions and needs.  We recognise each person for who they are.  We love them, we like them – sometimes better than at other times, we care for them and we know them well enough to know their needs.  We know that being part of the family brings benefits and responsibilities.  In some situations, we are in the giving role and then things shift and we’re in the receiving role.

In my family, my brother, Dick, was one of God’s special children.  He was both mentally and physically handicapped.  He needed extra care, and each of us in the family had a role in providing that.  He, in turn, provided to each of us wonderful lessons for life – being patient with ourselves and others, getting joy out of simple things around us, and giving love without measure.

We at Belmore Road are family.  God is our Father.  Jesus is our eldest brother.  We are all the younger siblings – who are looking after each other, helping each other grow as best we can, and letting others help us when we are in need.