Thoughts on Romans 12; "Contribute to the needs of the Saints", part 2

Last night I pointed out the verse that sets all believers with the saints. As I was thinking on that last night, I wanted to share a very important point that that knowledge brings, but I knew that it would take more time than I had last night. So I am back with part 2 tonight :). And thinking of a part 3 tomorrow... I'll see if something else takes first importance in my mind in the next 24 hours ;).

Now, the point I wanted to make was this; if you are blessed to have a family who shares your faith, your family are the saints, and their needs are those that you will most often be called to contribute to.

Now if you don't have the blessing of being able to call your family members brothers and sisters in Christ, you are still called to be salt and light to them, and that will often be through helping them in their needs. And no matter what, I believe that simply being a part of the family gives you a duty to be there for each other, sharing the tears, the laughter, the work, and everything else.

But specifically thinking of those of us who are in the privileged place of having our earthly family also part of our spiritual family, do you realize what that means? Our family are members of the saints, and this verse applies to them too. And that may seem obvious, but think about it. It's much easier to fill a need when it's a once-in-a-while thing, isn't it? When we can send an email or a letter or a text or make a phone call on our time, it's easier to speak an encouraging word. You get to plan it first and make sure you are "feeling" like doing it if need be. But often those closest to us get the least attention, just because we always have them there. We might not feel like giving an encouraging word when they are down or have a victory, and so we just continue on to the next room.

When we are out shopping at the grocery store and someone drops something, it can be easy to pick it up and hand it to them with a smile, because we are more likely to remember that we are to be cheerful and helpful when we are out of our normal setting. But when we get home, tired, and thinking that home is the place we can rest, and then a little one asks us to grab them a blanket from the top shelf upstairs, we can be inclined to grumble. But the Lord has placed us in families so that we have support and a training ground, and they are far more worthy of our help with a smile than the stranger in the store, as important as that is.

We get to see our family members' faults more than we do any other person's. But nevertheless, as saints they deserve our love and help as much as any other person- and as family, they deserve our love and help before any other person. What ways can we contribute to the needs of our families today?