Ohana Means Family

If we claim Jesus as Lord, then that means our old way of life has to go! After all, that is what repentance is, turning away from the wrong things we've done. But is it enough to just stop doing wrong things? I heard once that you can do nothing wrong, and still do nothing right. Jesus tells a story of a man who was demon possessed and the demon was cast out. The man was free! But he didn't fill his life with anything else, and the demon went and got more demons and came right back Ina, the man was worse off at the end than when he started! What's the point of that? Your life will always be filled with something. You can't just empty out all the bad stuff and not replace it. If you don't intentionally replace it with good things, it will slowly fill up with the old things, because that is kind of our default setting.

Paul knew this, and he told the Colossians to fill their lives with certain things. Check out what he has to say in Colossians 3, starting in verse 12:

Since you are all set apart by God, made holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with a holy way of life: compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Put up with one another. Stay together—no matter what! Forgive. Pardon any offenses against one another, as the Lord has pardoned you, because you should act in kind. But above all these, put on love! Love is the perfect tie to bind these together. Let your hearts fall under the rule of the Liberator’s peace (the peace you were called to as one body), and be thankful.

How would my life look different if those were the things that defined me? How can I be more compassionate today than I was yesterday? I love the 'stay together no matter what' part! A Christians, we let ourselves be too easily divided. I think many times we should take a cue from Lilo and Stitch! Ohana means family, and family means nobody gets left behind! Families stay together and families love each other through all the craziness that is family.

I pray that God will fill me with these things and surround me with the family of Christ that He wants me to be a part of!

Enjoy the Journey