Hey PPN Family,

I hope you had some quality time with your families over the school holidays.  I was blessed to go back to Samoa with my wife for a week and it was great to catch up with our families over there.  The warm and sunny 28 degrees each day wasn’t bad either.

This trip reminded me again of the importance of having family, and mostly, the value of spending time to connect with family.  We are living in an age where we often get so busy that it can be difficult to connect in a deep and meaningful way with those whom we love.

The challenge with this is that we were all created for family.  In Genesis 1:27 we read that God created us in His image and God is a loving family of 3 coeternal beings, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.  This means that we have been made to need and crave loving and authentic relationships in the family context.

God wants us to fulfill this yearning in our earthly families, but He especially wants us to satisfy this desire by being a part of His family.  When Jesus was commanding his disciples to go and reach the world for Him, He said in Matthew 28:19 (NLT), “Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” 

My surname is Talamaivao-Amituanai because I was blessed to have two dads.  Talamaivao was my biological father, and Amituanai was my dad who raised me, so I carry both of their names to signify that I am their son, and that I am a part of both of their families. 

In the same way when Jesus gave the command to baptise us in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, He was making it clear that baptism was a symbol of us joining His perfect family and taking on His name.  And when we join God’s family, we get everything that comes with that, eternal life, a beautiful home in heaven and the power of the Holy Spirit living within us.

So, as we go about our jobs and duties this week may we do so with the joy that comes from knowing that we are a part of God’s loving family.  And if you haven’t joined yet, you can do so today by believing that God loved you so much that He gave His only Son Jesus to save you from sin and death (John 3:16).

God bless,

Roland Talamaivao-Amituanai