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What Does a Christian Family Look Like?
by Norman and Ann Bales
All About Families

Wendy Murray Zoba recently wrote about stereotypical perceptions of Christian family life. Some people seem to think that a Christian family exists when people don't drink or smoke, conduct regular family devotions, avoid offending others and watch wholesome family videos at home. That sounded superficial to me.

But then another red flag went up when I read "Saint Flanders," an article by Mark I Pinsky that recently appeared in Christianity Today (Feb. 3, 2001). The author discussed the frightening possibility that a large number of the nation's young people form their perception of Christian families, from viewing The Simpsons. Ned Flanders is a fictional character in that animated series, which the screenwriters use to satirize the Christian faith. Ned is the Bible toting neighbor of Homer Simpson. His doorbell chimes play "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God." Basically, Ned is presented as a sort of naïve fanatic. Unfortunately, many people in today's world, especially those under twenty, associate Christian family living with the world of Ned Flanders.

So what does a Christian family look like? In broad terms, may we suggest a few basic parts of the picture.

• A Christian family is real. Sin, pain, sadness and disappointment are freely acknowledged.

• A Christian family spends time together. Members of the family are openly supportive of one another. They encourage each other and support one another. They share victories and defeats.

• A Christian family maintains high moral and spiritual standards. They attend church services together, but their devotion to God is not limited to a time and place.

• A Christian family deals with the normal problems of family living from a Christian perspective. They have mortgages to pay, housework to do and cars to repair, but they ask, "What would Jesus want us to do" when they make decisions about their families.