The Ethics of God’s Family

I’ve been doing some reading in  J.I. Packer’s Concise Theology and came across this fascinating statement on one of the three theological themes to come out of Jesus’ teachings:

The ethics of God’s family: The new life, which comes to sinners as a gift of God’s free grace, must be expressed in a new life-style. Those who live by grace must practice gratitude; those who have been greatly loved must show great love to others; those who live by being forgiven must themselves forgive; those who know God as their loving heavenly Father must accept his providences without bitterness, honoring him at all times by trusting in his protecting care. In a word, God’s children must be like their Father and their Savior, which means being utterly unlike the world (Matthew 5:43-48; 6:12-15; 18:21-35; 20:26 – 22:35-40).