“Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”

Mark 3:35 CSB

Of all the institutions in the earth, ‘Family’ is among the most misunderstood. After all, the term ‘Family’ could mean something different to various groups and cultures. There are five (5) types of family structures. (1) the most common structure is the ‘Nuclear Family’, which consists of a woman (wife), man (husband), and their children. (2) Conjugal Family consists of one or more mothers and their children, and/or one or more spouses, husbands. (3) Consanguineal Family consists of a mother and her children, and other people, usually the family of the mother. (4) Matrifocal Family consists of a mother and her children. This kind of family is common where women have the resources to rear their children by themselves, or where men are more mobile than women. These are all natural family structures, but there is an unnatural family structure that we will be focusing on; (5) the ‘Family of God’, “from whom every family in heaven and on earth receives its name”. Ephesians 3:15 NIV. We, who are of the Family of God, are not bound by any blood line, nationality, and ethnicity. This truth makes void the scientific process of ‘Genetic Distancing’.

Genetic Distance is a measure of the dissimilarity of genetic material between different species or individuals of the same species. By comparing the percentage difference between the same genes or junk DNA of different species, a figure can be obtained, which is a measure of ‘genetic distance’. What is ‘Junk DNA’? In Molecular biology, junk DNA is a provisional label for the portions of the DNA sequence of a chromosome or a genome for which no function has been identified. About 95% of the human genome has been designated as ‘Junk”. Wow! 95% of our human genome functionalities are unknown. How does that affect our family responsibilities?

Many sociologists and anthropologists believe the primary function of the family is to perpetuate society, either biologically, socially, or both. This is not necessary for the family of God, based on the following: “God setteth the solitary in families and gives the desolate a home in which to dwell…” Psalms 68:6 KJV

“God makes a home for the lonely, He leads out the prisoners into prosperity,” Psalm 68:6 NASB

“Those who are without friends, God puts in families”;

Psalm 68:6 Bible in Basic English

Jesus, tearing down all natural boundaries, opened the family of God up to all who believe in His only begotten Son, not by blood, but by faith.

“There came then his brethren and his mother, and, standing without, sent unto him, calling him. And the multitude sat about him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee. And He answered them, saying, Who is my mother, or my brethren? And He looked round about on them which sat about him, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren. For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother; and my sister; and mother.

Mark 3:31-35 KJV