Family...

Family is an interesting thing. The Greek and Hebrew words translated family means a circle of relatives, tribe or people; paternal descent, a group of families or a whole race. We all have a family we're born into, just as Christ Jesus did; "...the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest;..." (Luke 1:30-32) "...After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. 19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. 20 But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:18-21)

Even though Christ Jesus was Lord, God the Son in flesh, which Mary and Joseph knew from His incarnation, He was not "Beloved" by anyone other than the Father (Matthew 3:17, Mark 1:11, Luke 3:22), and maybe Mary (Luke 2:19) and Joseph (Matthew 13:55, Mark 6:3).

Who has believed our report?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant,
And as a root out of dry ground.
He has no form or comeliness;
And when we see Him,
There is no beauty that we should desire Him.
3 He is despised and rejected by men,
A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. (Isaiah 53:1-3)

For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. 11 For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren, 12 saying:
“I will declare Your name to My brethren;
In the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You.”
13 And again:
“I will put My trust in Him.”
And again:
“Here am I and the children whom God has given Me.”
14 Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. 16 For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham. 17 Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted. (Hebrews 2:10-18)

Not only did Mary and Joseph know that Christ Jesus wasn't an "ordinary" child, but as He grew up, others came to realize it too...

Now so it was that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. 47 And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers. 48 So when they saw Him, they were amazed; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously.” 49 And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” 50 But they did not understand the statement which He spoke to them. 51 Then He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them, but His mother kept all these things in her heart. 52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men. (Luke 2:46-52) 

Then He went out from there and came to His own country, and His disciples followed Him. 2 And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue. And many hearing Him were astonished, saying, “Where did this Man get these things? And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands! 3 Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?” So they were offended at Him. 4 But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house.” 5 Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6 And He marveled because of their unbelief. (Mark 6:1-6, Matthew 13:53-58)

When Christ Jesus first started His earthly ministry, many disciples followed Him, but as He continued teaching and revealing more Truth to them, Jesus told them, "...It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. 64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him. 65 And He said, “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.” 66 From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more." (John 6:63-66)

Unfortunately, this will also happen in our own lives, if we continue to be faithful followers of Christ Jesus and are filled with the Holy Spirit of Truth. As we live our lives striving to be obedient to God's Word and under conviction of sin, righteousness and judgement (John 16:5-15), most people will turn away from us and only a faithful few remain. A man who has friends must himself be friendly, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. (Proverbs18:24)

And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted. And they came to Him. 14 Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, 15 and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons: 16 Simon, to whom He gave the name Peter; 17 James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom He gave the name Boanerges, that is, “Sons of Thunder”; 18 Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Cananite; 19 and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him. (Mark 3:13-19; Matthew 10:1-4; Luke 6:12-16)

After the many disciples chose to turn away, Christ Jesus asked the remaining twelve, “Do you also want to go away?” 68 But Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (John 6:67-69) However, even though His circle of many dwindled down to a circle of few, there was still one in the group that He knew wasn't there for the right reason, but he was there for God's purpose; Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?” 71 He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for it was he who would betray Him, being one of the twelve. (John 6:70-71) Sometimes God will still allow "haters" to be near us, but they too play a part in God fulfilling His plan for our lives, and theirs.

All of this to get to the point about family, who is our family? After we become Christians, "family" may not continue to be who we've always believed it to be. While He was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him. 47 Then one said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You.” 48 But He answered and said to the one who told Him, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” 49 And He [looked around in a circle at those who sat about] stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! [My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.] 50 For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.” (Matthew 12:46-50; Mark 3:31-35; Luke 8:19-21)

This Truth is hard to accept because at some point we're all going to have to deal with letting go of people, including family members. When we become Christians, our first responsibility is to be obedient to the Word of God, and not only does He teach us to love (Mark 12:29-31) and forgive (Luke 17:3-4) and help those in need (Matthew 25:31-46); but He also teaches us to let go of the past (Philippians 3:12-15), shake off people who refuse to hear and believe the Truth (Mark 6:7-11) and change their lifestyle (2 Thessalonians 3:13-15), and those who try to or may tempt us to go back into our old way of thinking and living (1 Corinthians 15:33-34).

Jesus said, “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. 35 For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; 36 and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ 37 He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 38 And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 39 He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it. (Matthew 10:34-39)

When Moses blessed the tribes of Israel before he died, he spoke the following blessing over the tribe of Levi, the tribe specifically chosen by God to serve Him exclusively in His tabernacle and intercede on behalf of all the children of Israel (Numbers 1:47-53)...
Then he told Levi:

“Give your Thummim to Levi,
your Urim to your faithful one—...
the one who said of his own mother and father: ‘I don’t consider them as such’;
of their siblings: ‘I don’t recognize them’;
of their own children, ‘I don’t know them’—
but who obeyed your words
and who guarded your covenant!
10 They teach your case laws to Jacob,
your Instruction to Israel.
They hold sweet incense to your nose;
put the entirely burned offering on your altar.
11 I pray that the Lord blesses Levi’s strength,
favors his hard work,
and crushes the insides of his enemies
so that those who hate him can’t fight anymore.” (Deuteronomy 33:8-11 CEB)

The Levites forsook everyone, even family, in order to serve God in spirit and in truth. (John 4:23-24) And if we have family who doesn't believe and may want to hinder us from following God's will for our lives, we may have to forsake them also. As the Apostle Paul made very clear, Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. ... 20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. 21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Corinthians 5:16-20)

Of course our desire is to be able to continue having relationships with all people we've called friends and especially our family members. But, it may become necessary to let certain relationships go, as the Apostle Paul explained, But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person. 12 For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? 13 But those who are outside God judges. Therefore “put away from yourselves the evil person.” (1 Corinthians 5:11-13)

However, we must pray for them, and if it be God's will, the Apostle Paul also instructs us to be reconciled with them once they repent. But if anyone has caused grief,... —not to be too severe. 6 This punishment which was inflicted by the majority is sufficient for such a man, 7 so that, on the contrary, you ought rather to forgive and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one be swallowed up with too much sorrow. 8 Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love to him. (2 Corinthians 2:5-8)

It may not be easy, but Christ Jesus never promised that anything about living this Christian life in this sinful world would be easy. (John 16:31-33) That's why He sent His Holy Spirit to fill us and empower us to live this life successfully, even when those close to us may turn away. (John 14-16) But, He also prayed to the Father for us, and we should meditate on these words and take comfort in them, knowing that no matter what, nor who comes and goes in our lives, we are not alone...

“I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. 7 Now they have known that all things which You have given Me are from You. 8 For I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me. 9 I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours." (John 17:6-9)

"I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. 18 As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. 19 And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth." (John 17:14-19)

“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me." (John 17:20-23) AMEN