When you were younger, what did you imagine your family would be like when you were a grown up? Maybe you drew pictures of two parents, two children and a dog?

Did the future family in your mind look like the one you were surrounded by as a child, or totally different?

Perhaps you didn’t ever imagine having a family of your own?

There are certainly challenging and difficult things about families. I’m sure there will be a whole range of experiences represented amongst those of you reading this today. But whatever our personal experience is of family, I think most of us would recognise how powerful a great family is and has the potential to be.

In Genesis 2, God speaks and says that it isn’t good for people to be on their own. We were created to change, grow and learn in relationships and families are one of the main places that we get to do this in. Family is part of God’s design!

We follow the story of God’s ‘family’ through the Bible. When His people became slaves in Egypt for generations, they were separated from one another. They weren’t able to function in family or community as they were created to do. God stepped in and Pharaoh let the people go. They were freed from slavery, but also free to be family and live in community again. When we are not in family with others – whether that’s those directly related to us, or chosen family that reaches beyond the boundaries of biology – we’re captive, we’re not living in God’s best.

Psalm 68 starts by remind us who God is – He's great, powerful and mighty. He comes riding on the clouds. He’s the King of Kings.

But His greatness is not only demonstrated in military-like conquests, but in His compassion, especially for those who are in greatest need.

A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families.

When the Israelites left Egypt, they were free. But then they wandered around the wilderness, essentially an orphan nation. As the generations who were raised in slavery died, lots of people were without family. Because of this, so much of the law – the framework that God sets out for His people to live well in this time – is focused around ensuring that people are taken care of. And that happens in family. In community.

God’s cares about family because He cares about us. Family is so important to Him because of His great love for His children – us. His being our Father, our being His children, has nothing to do with how good we’ve been (or not), where we were born, what colour our skin is or how wealthy our family are, but is based entirely on who He is and how He loves. The Bible tells us that we get to call Him ‘Abba’, which isn’t ‘father’ or ‘sir’, it’s ‘Dad’, ‘Daddy’ – it's intimate and familiar. Even though He’s the Lord of all, He invites us in.

We’re chosen. We’re invited. We are welcome.

And God’s family is never full. There’s always room for more.

The way the human brain has been designed to work is brilliant. Our brains are not fully formed when we’re born, but instead develop over time. The architecture of our brains is literally grown through our experiences, and primarily through our relationships. God is a relational God, and He designed His people, you and I, to develop healthily in relationship and connection with one another.

Therefore, healthy relationships with adults who care for you are among the core things needed for all children to thrive.

Our hope, dream, prayer and ambition here at Home for Good is that every child would receive that care, love and support that will allow them to flourish. For some children who, for whatever reason, can’t live with their birth family, that will come from a foster carer, adoptive parent or supported lodgings host.

As Christians, we want our lives to reflect who God is. We pray, ‘Your kingdom come and Your will be done on earth as in Heaven’. What if God’s kingdom on earth looked like our families reflecting His; a place where anyone is welcome, where there’s always space at the table?

Maybe for some of us, inviting God’s kingdom here on earth as it is in Heaven could mean welcoming others into our families through fostering, adoption, by offering supported lodgings?