Families are for one another. Families do not calculate in advance how much caring they will do, under what circumstances and for whom. Rather, our caring is without condition and without a termination date. So, too, it must be in the church. Our brothers and sisters in Christ are to be cared for by each of us, especially in times of stress and sorrow.
Family requires accountability.
As we live our lives, we do so in the presence of our family. We are expected to behave honourably, to be faithful and to fulfill our obligations to one another. Although at first this may appear intrusive and restrictive, in fact it is highly freeing, for it allows us to become better persons, with deeper and more satisfying relationships, than we could ever have achieved outside the family structure. In a family, conflict must not be allowed to destroy relationships. Since there is literally no exit from a covenant, we have no choice but to work it out.