Family is small.. yet is of a large heart.. is it ?

What is it that makes a family good - is it wealth, is it knowledge, is it the qualities of the heart ?

This is easy to say, however understanding it, is a whole different thing altogether.

Qualities of the heart are such as compassion, kindness, love, effection, sincerity, honesty, forgiveness, concern for others, seeking to be good in how we think, managing our thoughts, not letting our minds to un-managed and letting it go any which way, managing our tongues and saying only good things and in a way that is pleasant, pleasing, polite and honest.

Being not hurtful with one's words is a quality that James, the brother of Jesus in his book speaks of as the quality we all should seek and practice. As you all may know, James was the successor to jesus, in the family that Jesus was born into. James was the son of Mary and Joseph and led the church even as Peter was head of it in formal ways - informaly and spiritualy it was James, who was the real successor. James being a member of jesus's family, his blood brother in one sense, was the ne who took on the mantle of the family lineage.

The church as it grew left the family tree of James, Jesus and such as that of David, Abraham, Joseph of The Old Testament, Jacob and others behind, in that there is no tracing of that ancestral line, within the church. The lineage became that of popes and royalty and the royalty too has fallen by the wayside. SO church history moved from a genealogical to a clerical or clergy centered one. The family got thrown out, and the priests took it over.

I am merely stating history here, as it happened. Not a criticism or any negetive aspect. It is my opinion as I understand history.

In this context, it is important we find out what it is that makes a family and trace our ancestry further back than what we now know already. Family trees are amazing and we are all one, is what I understand. yet we all have distinct and different gifts, aspects and qualities. let us discover them and cultivate them, and let us cultivate qualities of the heart, most of all.