A "Komplete" Family (Bulletin Article for January 20)

January 9 is a date that the McCreless family will not soon forget. Not only did Kaleb put on Christ in baptism, but his decision also made every member of the family—Bryan, Tammy, Kyle, Kameron and Kaleb—a Christian.

I remember the morning I decided to be baptized. My dad, with tears in his eyes said, “It looks like our family is going to be complete.” While I knew part of what he meant then, I now understand more of just how deep that statement was.

A family in which every member is a Christian is complete in several ways.

1. They are united by something even more precious than a family name. The McCreless family may be proud of that name, but now the entire family is also united by the precious blood of Jesus. They all wear His name, and there is no greater name (cf. Philippians 2:9-10).
2. They share the most important goal. Each family has goals, but some are far more important than others. A goal to agree on where to take a vacation is nice, but it’s not all that important. However, a family in which each member wants to live in heaven is a family that has an important goal. A family that wants to help other families go to heaven has set an even greater goal!
3. It should make parenting a little easier! Kaleb is a good young man, but he knows he isn’t perfect. That’s one of the reasons he decided to be baptized. He wanted his sins to be washed away. Now that he is a Christian, though, he should be working extra hard to be the right kind of young man. Young Christians will still “slip” every so often—and parents will still be there to discipline—but they should be striving to be the best young people possible.
4. It gives the hope of another Christian family in the future. Even though my children are very small, I pray from time-to-time for their future mates. I want Mary Carol and Turner to marry Christians. It will benefit each spouse, but it will also be a blessing to the children. The grandparents, if the child is—and marries—a Christian, have a great hope that the grandchildren will one day be Christians as well. And then, their children; and then….

To say that Kaleb’s decision was important is a great understatement. He made a personal decision (as each one must do), but it impacts—and will impact—so many other lives. We have noted just four ways in which the entire McCreless family was impacted by his decision.

Young people, you can have that same kind of influence and impact. Parents, you should pray daily for your children who are not yet Christians. If (hopefully, when!) your family is ever completely Christian, you will be overjoyed and will enjoy such blessings from that experience.